Buhari firmly stated that “all those that were governors, ministers, permanent secretaries, head of foreign staff and all those with political appointments will have to declare their assets on the assumption of their appointment and definitely with the courts. And once they leave they have to re-declare their assets.” He said this would ensure greater accountability among public servants
President-Elect Buhari spoke exclusively with SaharaTV on how he plans
to deal with corruption, the government’s finances, Boko Haram, and
Nigeria’s economy. Most notably he blamed Minister Iweala for the
financial situation in Nigeria, and that he will make his Ministerial
appointees declare their assets to the public.
When asked about statements from Minister of Finance Iweala on the
fiscal conditions and government spending in Nigeria, President-Elect
Buhari told SaharaTV that “I’m afraid the Finance Minister has no cause
to complain because the governors cannot force the central government to
act outside the Constitution.”
President-Elect Buhari firmly stated that “all those that were
governors, ministers, permanent secretaries, head of foreign staff and
all those with political appointments will have to declare their assets
on the assumption of their appointment and definitely with the courts.
And once they leave they have to re-declare their assets.” He said this
would ensure greater accountability among public servants.
However, he did tell SaharaTV that he does not plan to interfere with
the judiciary and whatever action it may take pursuing corrupt public
officials. He stated that his administration would not “become embroiled
in investigation every ministry, then the government will not have time
to move forward.”
On the contentious issue of Oil Block ownership in Nigeria, and an
equitable distribution of the country’s wealth, he suggested that
partisan politics in Nigeria is the cause of inequitability in the oil
sector. President-Elect Buhari claimed that he wanted to professionalize
the oil sector in Nigeria. He said that the “proliferation of oil
fields to people who don’t even know what it is, is one of the messes
partisan politics has brought.” Within the equitable distribution of
wealth and job creation for youth, the President-Elect pointed to the
APC manifesto calling for greater emphasis on mining and agriculture
development.
When pressed on rumors that former president Obasanjo was exercising
inordinate influence on Buhari's administration he said, "I think that
people have to accept the realities of Nigeria’s political development.
General Olusegun Obasanjo is the only living Nigerian that led Nigeria
for more than 11 years, so for anybody to think that General Obasanjo is
irrelevant or he was trying to push his influence over issues, I think
is being uncharitable and not being fair to Nigeria’s political
development."
President-Elect Buhari is now confronted with the challenge of
appointing a ministerial and cabinet team, and he has stated publicly
that PDP defectors should not expect to receive Minister appointments.
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