"For us, fighting corruption is a must" President told Thabo Mbeki

President Muhammadu Buhari says his administration’s ongoing fight against corruption is non-negotiable and “a must”.

The President stated this when he received the former South African President, Thabo Mbeki, at State House, Abuja, on Thursday.

Mbeki heads the African Union High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa and he was in Abuja to update Buhari about panel’s assignment.

Buhari, who is the current Champion of AU Anti-Corruption Campaign, said: “We must fight corruption frontally, because it’s one of the reasons we got elected.

“We campaigned on three fundamental issues; security, reviving the economy, and fight against corruption. It’s the reason we got elected, and we can’t afford to let our people down.’’

He noted that the government was making progress on the anti-corruption war, “and not just talking.’’

The President said he was very pleased with the assignment the former South African President was carrying out for the African continent.

He submitted that, “when Africa is vigorous with the war against corruption, we will eventually appeal to the conscience of the rest of the world.’’

In his remarks, Mbeki said corruption was an African challenge that must be responded to, “as development challenges can only be met through the check of illicit financial flows.”

He said he was delighted that Buhari touched on the issue in most of his speeches, with the most recent being at the United Nations General Assembly last week.

“We are pleased with the way you took up the matter.

“Countries need political will to stop the illicit flow. Nigeria has shown good example.

“The more we are showing that we are acting as Africans, the easier to get the rest of the world to cooperate,’’ he said.