Jonathan restates zero tolerance for corruption

President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday celebrated the recent dismissal of three judges from the judiciary for corrupt practices, saying it was a sign of his administration’s zero tolerance for corruption.
Jonathan spoke at the ongoing Economist Magazine’s Nigeria Summit 2013 in Lagos, noting that the transformation agenda of his administration remains an onerous task that requires all hands being on deck.
The theme of the Summit is: “Enabling and Implementing Change.”
Jonathan said: “Corruption and issues of good Governance are also being vigorously tackled on all fronts.
“Nigeria was one of the first signatories to the Inter-governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa, and I recently signed the Anti-Money Laundering Act into law.
“The three tiers of government now meet regularly to review and appraise progress and strategy.
“The recent dismissal of three judges found to have compromised their offices is a unmistakable signal of zero tolerance for corruption in the judiciary.”
President Jonathan cited the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System by his administration, saying the scheme has been able to check the problem of ghost workers in the public service.
He also spoke on the security challenge facing the country, which he noted was militating against the nation’s economic transformation but reminded the Summit and the international communities that security challenge is part of a rising global phenomenon.
On the state of the economy, the President said: “We have further reduced our fiscal deficit in the 2013 budget to 1.81 percent of GDP, and cut domestic borrowing.
“We have rebalanced our spending in favour of capital expenditure.
“The rate of inflation also dropped to single-digit territory at the beginning of this year.
“This strong fiscal and monetary policy framework and their economic outcomes, have received strong endorsement globally.
“At a time, many advanced and emerging markets are being downgraded, Fitch, Standard & Poor, and Moody’s upgraded our sovereign credit ratings. The inclusion of Nigeria’s sovereign bonds in the emerging market bond indices of JP Morgan and Barclays also testifies to the growing confidence of the international investment community in our economy.”
Speaking, former President of Brazil, Lula da Silva, opined that it was time for African leaders to work together to ensure the prosperity of their people and the continent rather than depending on foreign aid.
The Summit is being attended by ministers, top government functionaries and captains of Industry.