President Muhammadu Buhari, has declared that corruption is the “very worst”, of all the major problems confronting Nigeria, including the Boko Haram insurgency.
Buhari, who declared this at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, in Abuja, on Thursday, while receiving recipients of the 2016 Nigerian National Order of Merit, NNOM, outlined poor economy, insecurity, and corruption, as the major challenges facing the nation.
The recipients, Professors Omowunmi Sadik (Sciences), and Tanure Ojaide (Humanities), had their investiture on December 1, 2016.
He said: “Nobody disputed the fact that they were the major problems of Nigeria, and we campaigned on those three planks. As a government, we believe you cannot administer a country you have not secured, so we focused on security.
“The economy is also down, therefore, we are not sparing any effort to revive and diversify it, so that our people, particularly the youths, can get jobs. The third problem, and the worst of them all, is corruption.”
Buhari also, stated that Nigeria was in a terrible shape, when he took over in 2015, “with oil prices falling to as low as $37 per barrel, from peak periods of over $100 in previous years.
“There was no money in the treasury. We were producing less than one million barrels of oil per day, from the 2.2 million barrels we used to do. The country was in a terrible shape, but luckily, the people understand, and are co-operating with us.”
Buhari speaking further, commended the award winners, describing their contributions to the academia and national development as, “quite fundamental”.
In their separate remarks, the award recipients, lauded the ongoing anti-corruption war of President Buhari’s administration.
Canvassing more funding for research, they thanked the Federal Government for the National Order of Merit, saying: “nothing can be compared to being honoured by your own country.”
The Chairman of the Nigerian National Merit Award, Professor Moses Essien Etim, said 73 awards had been given out since 1979, when the desire to identify and reward creative excellence among Nigerians, was instituted into the NNOM.
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