Nuhu Ribadu
The former chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu
Ribadu has admonished Gombe State commissioner designates, Special
Assistants, and Permanent Secretaries to make a personal commitment not
to tamper with public funds.
Ribadu stated this on Monday at the commencement of a two-day retreat
for commissioner designates, Special Assistants, and Permanent
Secretaries, where he delivered a keynote presentation on
anti-corruption and good governance.
He said corruption is the cause of Nigeria’s underdevelopment, lack of power and poverty.
He noted that since President Muhammadu Buhari became the substantive
minister of petroleum, corruption has been reduced to the barest minimum
in the petroleum sector.
“Make a personal vow not to steal public funds. You can’t stop
corruption in the police when the civil service is still corrupt. Stop
corruption and see what will happen in the society. Corruption erodes
trust in leadership. A leader with soiled hands has no moral right to
question his subordinates.
“For you, all this is, is a stepping stone. You must not fall for the
banana peel thereby denting yourself. EFCC, NFIU are capable and they
can see you. They have the infrastructure to track every single penny
stolen from the government. Things have changed, and the world has
changed, so let us also change.
“Since President Buhari took over as the minister of petroleum. I have
not seen people become billionaires from oil business because there is a
leader who is not corrupt ” he said.
Also speaking at the event, the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, Boss Mustapha said that for Gombe State government to
succeed in internal security, it must work closely with traditional
institutions.
Mustapha said, “Let me urge the government of Gombe State to work
closely with traditional institutions for the purpose of entrenching the
policies of Federal government in the area of community policing. We
must return to it if we have the desire to protect our communities”.
Governor Inuwa Yahaya, in his remarks scored his government high in
three critical sectors. He charged the commissioners designate to be
prudent.
The areas include water supply, mobilisation of road construction projects and fertilizer supply.