We’ll root out culture of impunity – President Yar’Adua
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Apr 3, 2008, 13:09

President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has declared that his Administration is determined to root out “the culture of impunity” which enables corruption to thrive in Nigeria.

The President who made the declaration at a breakfast meeting with Mr. Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States of America, on Thursday, April 3 at the State House in Abuja said that he had come to the conclusion that corruption continued to thrive in Nigeria because too many people believe they can disregard existing laws and regulations without ever being punished for their illegal actions.

He noted that the problem has never been laws or regulations on issues of corruption but the enforcement of these laws and regulations adding that the nation had reached a situation where disrespect for laws and established regulations became a status symbol.

He however reiterated his insistence that irrespective of a citizen’s status either as the President, Governor or a mere office clerk, all actions must flow from the laws that govern the office.

“Our goal is to make it apparent to all Nigerians that from the President down to the lowest official, nobody can disregard the law and get away with it,” he said.

President Yar’Adua also reaffirmed his commitment to reforming Nigeria’s electoral processes, telling the former American President that there was a growing realisation in the country that a stable political system anchored on credible elections was a prerequisite for meaningful socio-economic development.

The President said that he expected election tribunals to have concluded their work by July this year at the latest so that the National Electoral Reform Panel established by his Administration can move into the critical phase of its work.

President Carter, who was accompanied by his wife Roselyn, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Ms. Robin Sanders, and other officials of the Carter Centre in Atlanta, said that he looked forward to working with President Yar’Adua on health issues and the reformation of the electoral process in Nigeria.

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