President says Nigeria loses $7 billion to crude oil theft annually

monjola sotubo

May 13, 2016 11:30 AM

Buhari made the revelation while speaking at an anti-corruption summit hosted by British Prime Minister, David Cameron in London.

President Muhammadu Buhari speaks at the Commonwealth Tackling Corruption Together Conference in the United Kingdom on May 11, 2016.

Buhari made the revelation while speaking at an anti-corruption summit hosted by British Prime Minister David Cameron in London.

“When it comes to tackling corruption, the international community has unfortunately looked away for too long. We need to step up and tackle this evil together. That is why we have gathered here today,” the president said.

“Corruption creates a system where resources are shared by a small elite while the majority wallows in poverty. Corruption also undermines the ability of countries to finance development.

“I recall in this regard, the landmark Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the 3rd International Conference on Finance for Development held in January this year.

“A prominent feature of that global framework is the recognition that good governance and measures to combat corruption and curb illicit financial flows will be integral to the effort to attain sustainable development globally by the year 2050.

“It is for this reason that my Government is determined to address illicit financial outflows which have served as a major impediment to progress in our country.

“I wish to reiterate our demand that the global community must come up with mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for stolen funds and facilitate the return of stolen assets to their countries of origin,” he added.

Buhari also advocated for new measures against corruption which would include mechanisms to assist countries like Nigeria to combat illegal activities such as crude oil theft.

Watch video of Buhari responding to Cameron's "fantastically corrupt" comment below:

monjola sotubo