President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday told world leaders that corruption<\/p>\n
freezes development and undermines the attainment of the Sustainable
\nDevelopment Goals (SDGs).<\/p>\n
Presenting Nigeria\u2019s Statement at the 71st Session of the United Nations
\nGeneral Assembly (UNGA71) in New York, on the theme, \u201cSustainable
\nDevelopment Goals: a Universal Push to Transform the World,\u201d the President
\nrestated that \u201cfighting corruption remains a cardinal pillar\u201d of the
\ncurrent administration.<\/p>\n
President Buhari said Nigeria remained committed to achieving the SGDs,
\nwhich he noted, \u201cunderscore the imperative for our collective will towards
\nfinding enduring and sustainable solutions to addressing global
\ndisparities.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also expressed delight that the anti-corruption campaign has started
\nyielding positive dividends including significant recovery of stolen
\nassets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe recovered funds are being channeled towards the development of
\ncritical infrastructure and the implementation of social inclusion
\nprogrammes for our people,\u201d President Buhari said, adding that the
\ncapacity of government agencies was being strengthened to institutionalize
\nreforms that will ensure transparency and good governance.<\/p>\n
He said that Nigeria will continue to call for speedy and unconditional
\nrecovery of illicit assets stashed abroad, stressing that \u201cNigeria
\nsupports the development of an international legal framework to enforce
\nanti-corruption measures and strengthen existing international
\ninstitutions to effectively deal with corrupt practices.\u201d<\/p>\n
While acknowledging that Nigeria is not spared the adverse effects of the
\ncurrent global economic downturn, the President noted that his
\nadministration remained undeterred and has embarked on comprehensive
\ndiversification reforms by shifting emphasis to non-oil sectors of
\n\u201cmining, agriculture, industrialization, infrastructure development and
\nthe creation of the enabling environment for Foreign Direct Investment.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stressed that \u201cOur strategic objective is to stimulate the economy,
\nrestore growth and accelerate recovery. In doing this, we are taking
\nmeasures to reduce the cost of governance and increase expenditure on
\ninfrastructure and ensure environmental best practices.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Climate Change, President Buhari said that Nigeria is proud to have
\nbeen part of the process leading to the adoption of the Paris Agreement in
\nDecember 2015, and supports the African Union initiative on the Great
\nGreen Wall to halt desertification. While attributing the drying up of
\nLake Chad to the negative consequences of Climate Change, he called for
\nglobal support to raise $14 billion US Dollars being the estimated cost of
\nrestoration of the Lake over a five-year plan.<\/p>\n
The President said that it was in furtherance of the country\u2019s commitment
\nto environmental sustainability that Nigeria launched the cleanup of
\nOgoniland, even as he called on development partners and multinationals to
\ncontribute to the Ogoniland Restoration Fund.<\/p>\n
The Nigerian leader also spoke on dangers posed by global terrorists,
\nadding that \u201cNigeria has made remarkable progress in our resolve to defeat
\nBoko Haram whose capacity to launch orchestrated attacks as a formed group
\nhas been severely degraded. In the last few months, their operations have
\nbeen limited to sporadic use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)
\nagainst soft targets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nigeria, he noted, will continue to fight terrorism \u201cbased on the
\nestablished rules of engagement and in conformity with international best
\npractices,\u201d as he called for enhanced international cooperation to defeat
\nthe global scourge.<\/p>\n
President Buhari also stated Nigeria\u2019s position on flow of migrants,
\nstatehood for Palestinians in conformity with Security Council
\nresolutions; the vital role of youth to national development; nuclear
\nsecurity and the reform of the United Nations Security Council to give
\nAfrica adequate representation.<\/p>\n
\u201cNigeria stands ready to serve Africa and the world on a reformed Security
\nCouncil to advance international peace and security,\u201d the President
\ndeclared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday told world leaders that corruption freezes development and undermines the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Presenting Nigeria\u2019s Statement at the 71st Session of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n