Buhari to Extend Dragnet to Corrupt APC Members

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President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to extend the war against corruption to corrupt members of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), stating that there will be no party member or personality that can escape justice.

Buhari, who is on a four-day official visit to the United States of America, made this known yesterday on the CNN current affairs programme Amanpour.

The programme's anchor, Ms. Christiane Amanpour, had asked the president on his campaign promise to root out corruption and if he would crackdown on members of his own party or his associates if they turned out to be some of the guilty ones, he said: "I just have too. There isn't going to be any party member of personality that can escape justice."

On the issue of insecurity in the country, Buhari restated that Nigerians were rooting for normalcy in the country, making references to oil infrastructure vandalism and kidnappings in the Niger Delta and the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east.

"This is major preoccupation in Nigeria now and is a realistic way of looking at things, and nothing will work until the country is secure," he told Amanpour.
When she reminded him that there had been at least 400 deaths since he assumed office and the credibility of the military had been eroded due to the Amnesty International report on human rights abuses, Buhari stated her that under the Lake Chad Basin Commission, the member countries had agreed to set up the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).

"So whatever happened before that decision was taken, we have to allow further investigation to verify the question of human rights abuse, and I'm sure you must have known of the decision taken by this government, the Federal Government of Nigeria, on changing the military command," he said.

On if his government was willing to trade the kidnapped Chibok girls for incarcerated Boko Haram inmates, the president called for caution on the credibility of various Boko Haram leadership that show up claiming that they can deliver, adding: "We have to be very careful. Indeed, this is why we are taking our time, because we want to bring them safe (sic) back to their parents and to their school."

He maintained that he was not against negotiations with the Islamist sect so long as he can verify the credibility of those who approach the government, "because our main objective as a government is to secure those girls safely and sound back to their school and rehabilitate them to go back to normal life.

"So if we are convinced that the leadership that presents itself can deliver those girls safe and sound, we will be prepared to negotiate what they want".

When Amanpour reminded him that he came to power on the promise of doing better than the previous president in the areas of security, corruption and on the economy, yet there had been hundreds of people killed since he became president, Buhari said he could be held to his promises for the next three and three-quarter years ahead of him, noting that it was too early for anyone to pass judgment on his campaign promises.

Responding to the question on if he was disappointed that President (Barack) Obama was yet again not coming to Nigeria, he said: "I wouldn't say I am disappointed, but how I wished he would change his mind and come to Nigeria."

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