APC Unveils Plans to Tackle Corruption, Insecurity

National Chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie Oyegun

Says corrupt persons will be punished
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has given some insight into how it hopes to address the problems of corruption and insecurity in the country.

It said corruption has become one of the recurring reasons for advocates of regime change in the country and as such it intends to fight it frontally, sparing no one no matter how highly placed.

Addressing journalists at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, on measures to tackle corruption, National Chairman of party, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, said anti-corruption agencies would be strengthened and decentralised to operate in states and local government councils.

He said an APC controlled-federal government would ensure zero tolerance for corruption and would ensure that indicted persons are investigated and punished accordingly.

“We will do all it takes to stop the monster called corruption. The party will on assumption of office mount a vigorous campaign against corruption, reform of the judicial system including use of special prosecutors to handle corruption cases, “ he said.

Oyegun said the party intends to formally present to its presidential candidate a comprehensive copy of the manifesto with which to run his campaigns.

Giving more insight into measures the party will take to deal with corruption,
Oyegun said APC would establish a framework for the encouragement of a whistle blower against corruption and it would be institutionalised and made to serve as an instrument of alert on corrupt practices.

He said in order to ensure a focused and sustained campaign, a structure will be put in place to undertake a continuous review of the process and to ensure that the progress of the fight against corruption is on track.

“The use of the ombudsman institution will be reviewed and streamlined for efficiency and to meet public expectation. The enforcement of contracts shall be a national article of faith.”

Oyegun further said that the APC government would attempt to correct injustices and economic imbalance that often fuel corruption by implementing a programme of inclusive growth, qualitative education and equitable distribution of the national wealth.

He said the National Orientation Agency (NOA) would be reorganised to lead the fight against corruption.

“It will embark on the review of our educational curriculum in order to inculcate national values on the young ones.”

The national chairman who lamented that in the last 16 years corruption has grown exponentially to the point that the world has come to stigmatise Nigeria, blamed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for encouraging corruption.

He said Nigeria has maintained a score in the range of 25 per cent and ranked amongst the bottom level of corrupt countries deteriorating from a bad score of 27 per cent in 2011 to 25 per cent in 2013.

He also criticised President Jonathan’s recourse to excuses, apologies and claims over inability to curb corruption during his recent declaration for another term in office.

“There was a good reason for this. Corruption built the PDP, and PDP built corruption into a weapon which it has deployed against all our values and interests as Nigerians. It has built its electoral fortunes on corrupting all vital institutions that should give the popular will of our people expression,” he said.

Citing examples of cases of alleged corruption in the system, Oyegun said the operation of the national budget and the funding the military have been massively abused with corruption under the President Jonathan administration.

At the same time a probe panel had revealed that there were massive corruption in the oil subsidy payments but the Federal government failed to take actions against those indicted.

On insecurity, Oyegun said an APC government will confront the insecurity scourge frontally when it comes to power by tackling problems of social inequalities and improving the capacity of the military to deal with the insurgency, to free the country from the ceaseless attacks on innocent Nigerians.

On why APC did not reject former PDP members who have moved over to the opposition party if it felt they had contributed to scaling up corruption in the land, Oyegun said the party cannot but forgive those who have changed their ways.

He also said that some of those who defected to APC were known to have rebelled against what they felt was going wrong in the PDP before they left.

He said every APC state have been truly transformative and people can see evidence of what the tax payers money was being used for.

He said as of today while many APC state can boldly speak of achievements they have made, many PDP states are still owing arrears of workers salaries.

According to Oyegun but for their ability to generate funds from internal sources, the APC states would have found it extremely difficult to survive the move to deliberately starving them of funds.

“All APC states has managed to block all loop wholes fueling corruption and that is why they have survived. That is what the party has directed them to do and that is what most of them have done,” he said.

Oyegun said the only way the leaders would learn to respect the wishes of the people is for the electorates to vote out a government that has failed and to try another one.