The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari, has expressed confidence that he will rid corruption to its barest minimum in Nigeria if voted into power.
Speaking as a guest on CNN’s programme, Amanpour, blamed the present administration of worsening the situation, insisting that eradicating corruption will be the top priority of his administration if he becomes president.
“There are serious citizens of this country who said unless Nigeria kills corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria and that is thus illustrated by another hearing conducted by the National Assembly on pension funds, question of (electricity) power and the corruption in the petroleum industry; which the country depends on for over 90 per cent of its external revenue.
“The National Assembly conducted the hearing in Abuja and the six geopolitical zones of the country and took their recommendation to the executive and it has been collecting dust there for the last 18 months”, he stressed.
The Katsina-born politician was also pleased that former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, endorsed his candidacy, adding that it will greatly boost his campaign against the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
“It will certainly bring more supporters to us and more confidence to us, again for those who are still sitting on the fence, because General Obasanjo is highly respected and as far as the Nigerian nation is concerned, there is no serious issue that can be discussed without people seeking his opinion and listening to it”, he said.
General Buhari became the candidate of the APC after defeating other aspirants; former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar (954 votes); Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso (974 votes); Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha (624 votes) and the Publisher of Leadership Newspapers, Sam Nda-Isaiah (10 votes) during the party’s presidential primaries in December last year.
Buhari scored 3,430 votes during the prmaries held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Nigeria’s commercial nerve, Lagos State.
At least 10,000 members of the APC, drawn from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, were at the Teslim Balogun Stadium to pick the party’s flag-bearer for the 2015 presidential election.