We Will Publish Names Of Looters- Buhari

President Mohammadu Buhari on Friday said his
government will soon publish names of those who have returned portions of their
loot from public coffers. President Buhari, according to The Cable News, said
that the Central Bank of Nigeria will soon publicly name those who looted
Nigeria. He said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was holding on from
publishing the list in order to avoid jeopardising investigations and further
recoveries.

The president disclosed this while
speaking at the 15th session of the Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation lecture at the
International Conference Centre, in Abuja yesterday. In his lecture, Buhari
said during electioneering, the issue that gained “higher currency” in the
psyche of the people was that Nigerians needed leadership that could be relied
upon to tackle the orgy of corruption in the country.

“We have taken steps towards recovering
a reasonable amount of the money that was looted or misappropriated from public
coffers. Investigations are ongoing on public officers who served, or are still
serving, and those whose conduct are questionable will be compelled to accept
the path of honour and surrender their loot,” he said. “As I stated recently, a
good number of people who abused their positions are voluntarily returning the
illicit funds.

I have heard it said that we
should disclose the names of the people, and the amount returned. Yes, in due
course, the Central Bank of Nigeria will make information available to the
public on the surrendered funds, but I must remark that it is yet early days,
and any disclosure now may jeopardize the possibility of bigger recoveries.
“But we owe Nigerians adequate information, and it shall come in due course.

It is part of the collective
effort to change our land from the bastion of corruption it currently is, to a
place of probity and transparency. “Quite frankly, the anti-corruption war is
not strictly about me as a person, it is about building a country where our
children, and the forthcoming generations, can live in peace and prosperity.
When you see dilapidated infrastructure round the country, it is often the
consequence of corruption.

“Poor heal-thcare, collapsed
educa-tion, lack of public utilities, decayed social services, are all products
of corruption, as those entrusted with public resources put them in their
private pockets. That must stop, if we want a new Nigeria. And that was why I
said at another forum that people need not fear me, but they must fear the
consequences of their actions.

“Corrupt acts will always be
punished, and there will be no friend, no foe. We will strive to do what is
fair and just at all times, but people who refuse to embrace probity should
have every cause to fear,” he said.