We’ll defeat corruption - Buhari reiterates

President Muhammadu Buhari is sure that his administration will win the anti-corruption war, even though it is tough, grueling, and fighting back vigorously.

The President spoke during a meeting with American Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday on the sidelines of a conference on climate change, COP22, in Marrakech, Morocco.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, President Buhari said corrupt people had accumulated a formidable arsenal of illicit wealth, which they were deploying against the government on diverse fronts.

He said: “But it is a war we are determined to win, and which we will win,”

“People of goodwill are behind us, countries like America and many others are with us, and we will surely win.”

The President also updated Secretary Kerry on the war against insurgency in the Northeast and efforts being made to tackle humanitarian problems caused by the insurgency. He said a presidential committee had been launched “under Gen. T.Y Danjuma, a man of high integrity.”

On the unrest in the Niger Delta, which manifests in the sabotage of critical oil and power installations, President Buhari said the engagement process was proceeding apace, adding that it was rather difficult bringing the main protagonists of the insurgency under one umbrella.

He said Nigeria was happy with American support on various fronts, assuring that the economic challenges facing the country were being “frontally tackled, and we will overcome them soon”.

Secretary Kerry expressed delight at the many successes of the Buhari administration, pledging continued U.S. support in the bid to overcome security, humanitarian, political and economic challenges.

As the Barack Obama administration exits in January, Kerry said he would love to continue engaging with Nigeria, even in a private capacity.

He described President Buhari as a strong international partner in the battle against violent extremism.