During a television interview broadcast Monday night, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari vowed to continue his crackdown against corrupt officials during his second term.
Buhari will be sworn in for his next four-year term on Wednesday. He came to power in 2015 on a promise to tackle endemic corruption. Some of his critics have accused him of a political witch-hunt on opposition members. Others say corruption is still rampant in Africa’s largest country.
President Buhari blamed part of the problem on Nigeria’s legal system.
“My frustration is that we cannot move faster in prosecution and punishment of corrupt persons,” Buhari told state television. “Even if you are using whistleblowers, you have to go to the police… to go through the rigmarole of full investigation before prosecution,” he added.
President Buhari also spent much of his previous term in arguments with legislators over a number of issues, including his 2017-2018 budget which was held up for seven months.
“I told them, how do they feel to hold the country to ransom for seven months without passing a budget”, Buhari said during the interview. “I said, personally they are not hurting me, they were hurting the country.
In addition to stepping up anti-corruption efforts, Buhari also says he would ensure police and judicial reform in his second term in office.
