UK supports anti-corruption war in Nigeria

THE United Kingdom (UK) has stated its commitment to assist Nigeria in the war against corruption as well as other areas like security and the economy.

   
Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai

 

The UK Minister for Africa and Department for International Development (DFID), Mr. Grant Shapps, stated this during a courtesy visit to Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai at the Government House.
He said the United Kingdom government has launched a £100 million public sector accountability and governance programme to support Nigeria in its development path.

In his address, Shapps said: “Nigeria matters to the UK. The UK is fully committed to helping Nigeria increase its security, stability and prosperity. Tackling corruption is imperative to that. We share and support President Buhari’s commitment towards this.”

Shapps explained that, “we would continue to provide capacity building, technical and investigative support to Nigeria to tackle corruption,” adding, “as we have an opportunity now to develop a comprehensive partnership across these areas; I hope that we can work together to quickly move this forward.”
While stressing on the £100 million public sector accountability and governance support by the British government, Shapps said that the programme, “is to build institutions that are accountable and able to meet citizens needs.”

He said it is also to scrutinise public expenditure through parliamentary oversight and citizen engagement to monitor government activities.”
Shapps stated that: “To fight poverty you need lots of things. You need to end conflict. You need to make sure medicines and health workers are there. You need to ensure people have food. You need to ensure there are jobs.

“But for all these things to happen you need to end corruption. You need to make sure that the money is well used. That public services reach citizens, including the poor. You need to ensure that you have an environment that allows businesses to invest their money and create jobs without unnecessary red tape. You need public institutions that make it easy for citizens to access services without having to pay bribe.”

The British minister however noted that, “none of this can happen where corruption is allowed to thrive”, adding, “corruption is bad for development, bad for poor people and bad for business.”
“Corruption takes away trust in public officials and government institutions. Corruption distorts competitive markets and lead to reallocation of resources. If not tackled, corruption on a large scale, and those that practice it will ultimately destroy Nigeria.”

He pledged that the British government will continue to collaborate with Nigerian authorities to ensue that the menace is eradicated, while insisting that, “this programme will help government to open up and be more transparent.”

Shapps further stressed that the British government will continue to expose Nigerians who cart away the nation’s resources to its territory illegally and punitive measures would be taken against them.

According to him, “corruption in Nigeria also affects the UK directly. Where we have evidence, we will continue to take action to protect the integrity of the UK’s financial system and prevent its use for money laundering purposes.

“We will continue to work with Nigerian authorities on this. There will be no impunity on our side and we will take action fairly and promptly against anyone convicted of criminal offences under UK jurisdiction. Where assets are recovered, we will return them to Nigeria as soon as we can, so they can be used for the benefit of Nigerians.”

In his response, El-Rufai commended Shapps and his entourage, saying that the Buhari administration in Nigeria was a divine intervention to correct all the ills that had plagued the nation in the past.