Buhari signs order to freeze graft suspects’ assets

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed an executive order to freeze assets of individuals with corruption cases.
The Executive Order No.
6 of 2018 “on the Preservation of Assets connected with serious corruption and other relevant offences,” was signed on Friday at a short ceremony in the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to Buhari, there is a very strong link between corruption and peace and security of the country.
He said: “I am delighted to welcome you all to this very important occasion, which is another milestone in the fight against corruption- a project that is very crucial to the viability and continuous well-being of this country.
Whilst there are many reasons why Nigeria has been struggling; regrettably, the most unfortunate cause of great disparity between Nigeria’s wealth and its poverty is endemic corruption.
“There is also a very strong link between corruption, peace and security.
Unfortunately, corruption is everywhere; at all levels of government, and every stratum of our society.
Without doubt, corruption constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the well-being, national security, and economy of Nigeria.
“Mindful of this serious challenge, as you are all aware, before coming into government, this Administration specifically promised Nigerians that it will address the challenges facing our nation in the three areas of: (a) Security, (b) Economy and (c) Corruption.
”As a government, and in furtherance of our anticorruption programme, we have since inception engaged in multi-sectoral reforms on anti-corruption including the enforcement of Treasury Single Account (TSA), strict implementation of the Bank Verification Number Policy, Signing of the Open Government Partnership, and a lot of efforts have gone into building and development of our anti-corruption institutions, among others.” H e said his administration “has so far kept faith with the promise and will remain committed until Nigeria triumphs over corruption, attains a prosperous economic status and surmounts all her security challenges.” He also insisted that if Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will sooner or later kill Nigeria.
The President added: “Therefore, after three years in office, it is an opportune time to further review our achievements against set goals and, where necessary, re-appraise our strategy in order to achieve our outstanding objectives.
“As this real battle continues, we still need to strengthen our policies and institutions in order to successfully fight corruption.
We recognise that there are more grounds to cover in the war against corruption, and we are prepared to go out to possess those lands by cutting off any means that facilitates corruption and supports its growth.
“From available records, the aggregate value of funds involved in some on-going prosecution of high profile corruption related cases stands at N595,409,838,452.25k.
This amount is in excess of the N500 billion approved for Social Investment Programme in the 2018 Budget, which sum would be applied to cater for home grown school feeding programme, government economic empowerment programme, N-Power Job Creation Programme, Conditional Cash Transfers, etc.
Cumulatively, scores of millions of Nigerian citizens would benefit from those programmes.” “Therefore, in order to preserve Nigeria’s political and economic systems, and the continuous progress of the Nigerian State from the serious threat of corruption, I call on all stakeholders, and indeed every Nigerian to give effect to this Executive Order.
“Agencies of the Federal Government in consultation with the Attorney General of the Federation should identify and adopt best practices, and develop strategies for action.
The fight against corruption is one that must be fought by everyone wherever corruption rears its head.” Buhari reaffirmed.