Magu: My anti-corruption focus won’t shift – Buhari

Buhari, who doubles as African Union (AU) Anti-Corruption Champion in Africa, said most of the piles of corruption cases the administration had been dealing with were passed down from previous administrations.

The President, who spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the reaffirmation became necessary in the face of criticism by the opposition.

Fielding questions from State House Correspondents on issues raised by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since the beginning of the interrogation of suspended acting EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, Shehu said the volume and reach of the anti-corruption crusade so far had reflected what the PDP left behind.

Shehu said corruption became so normalized by the PDP that they had difficulty defining what is “corruption” and “theft”.

The presidential spokesman praised Buhari’s determination to end corruption in the country as responsible for the number of highly publicized charges and cases.

“The large number of cases, new and old, may appear to be daunting but PDP, which is now heckling the President, has forgotten that the party bequeathed this to the current administration. They had large number of cases they did not investigate and prosecute,” he said.

Shehu also cautioned the PDP to allow the process of investigation and prosecution to work instead of being preemptive about ongoing cases and unduly agitating the public.

He expressed hope that the Judiciary would deal with the cases swiftly and satisfactorily, in a manner that would deter other would-be offenders.

“The current administration is handling many of the cases that the PDP should have dealt with and the new ones as they arise,” he said.