Buhari calls for global action against corruption

President Muhammadu Buhari has called for measures by the international community to stem illicit flow of funds within countries and across national boundaries.

Addressing world leaders at the ongoing 73^rd session of the UN General Assembly, President Buhari said corruption has a huge negative impact on the stability, peace, and economic prospects of millions in developing countries.

“Corruption significantly deprives national Governments of resources to provide meaningful livelihoods to their populations who are predominantly youths, thus giving rise to more irregular migration,” Buhari said.

He noted that the fight against corruption was a collective assignment involving all stakeholders adding, “It is in our collective interest to cooperate in tracking illicit financial flows, investigate and prosecute corrupt individuals and entities and repatriate such funds to their countries of origin”.

“The only global institutional framework we have to address these challenges is the United Nations System,” Buhari stressed.

He called for the strengthening of the UN and making it more effective by speeding up the pace of progress towards its reform, including that of its principal organ, the Security Council.

“We believe that a reformed Security Council with expanded membership in both the permanent and non-permanent categories, is in accord with prevailing international consensus and it is in our collective interest to do so.

According to him, it is high time we stopped skirting round the issue and establish achievable benchmarks and time frames for these reforms.

“I assure you all that in this advocacy, I am only reflecting Nigeria’s deep and abiding commitment to our Organisation and its founding principles and goals.

“We are resolute in complementing the efforts and examples of the United Nations to promote gender equality and youth empowerment as necessary pillars for sustainable development,” Buhari said.

The Nigerian leader expressed regrets about some lingering threats to peace and security around the world, noting that in some cases, matters got worse.

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“The terrorist insurgencies we face, particularly in the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin, are partly fuelled by local factors and dynamics, but now increasingly by the international Jihadi Movement, runaway fighters from Iraq and Syria and arms from the disintegration of Libya”.

He called on the international community to strengthen its resolve to combat ethnic and religious cleansing everywhere, expressing Nigeria’s support for the UN’s efforts in ensuring that the Rohingya refugees are allowed to return to their homes in Myanmar with security, protection, and guarantee of citizenship.

The Nigerian leader commended the efforts of the leaders of the United States, North Korea and South Korea, “to realise our shared goal of a nuclear free Korean Peninsula.”

He also acknowledged the commitment to peace shown by U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Chairman Kim Jong-Un by initiating a historic Summit, urging both leaders to continue with the positive engagement.

Buhari called on the Israelis and the Palestinians to make the necessary compromises in the interest of justice, peace and security, in line with numerous UN resolutions and applicable international laws.

He also reaffirmed Nigeria’s “unwavering support for a just two-state solution, negotiated without intimidation and with Israel and Palestine existing side-by-side in peace and security”