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Mr Mike Abu, publisher and chairman, Board of Trustees of the Nigerian Post Newspapers has called for the sustenance of the fight against corruption in the country for democracy to survive.
Abu, who made the call during the paper’s 13th Annual Democracy Day Lecture on Monday in Lokoja, said the call become necessary in view of recent discoveries of how the nation’s commonwealth had been looted by few privileged individuals.
He noted that the hope of the citizenry in the nation’s 18-year democracy was being eroded by the activities of the corrupt few who had milked the nation dry in the name of practicing democracy.
“Our citizenry seem to be losing faith in democracy with the daily discoveries of how the nation’s commonwealth was pilfered and is still being been looted and hidden in obscure and unimaginable places”, he said.
He reiterated that efforts must be made to sustain the fight against corruption and entrench democracy saying that the nation’s democracy is attaining adulthood having gone beyond the nascent period of its development.
“We make bold to say that the worst form of democratic government cannot be compared to the most benevolent military dictatorship and thus, we advocate the continuous subservience of the military to democratic tenets even as we get our acts right”, he added.
Abu commended Kogi State Government for the effort in overhauling the state civil service but urged that a thorough appraisal of the screening exercise be done to identify the grey areas and make necessary amendments in the interest of the citizenry.
Among papers presented at the occasion was, “Prebendalism and Clientelism: Major Factors Militating against Transparency and Accountability in The Nigerian Democratic experiment” by Mr. Tope Joel.
The speaker called for sustainable efforts in strengthening the institution that fight against corruption. He commended President Mohammad Buhari in his fight against corruption.
In a remarks at the occasion, Gov. Yahaya Bello, represented by the Director General on Information Service, Mallam Abdulmalik Abdulkareem said the present administration has made accountability and transparency its watch word. He assured that soon the people will begin to see and feel the dividends of democracy like they have never done before.
The occasion also featured presentation of awards to Administrators of some Local Government Areas and deserving stakeholders in the state.
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