President Muhammadu Buhari has explained that the need for probity, transparency and accountability in the public and private sectors was to secure the future of the country for all Nigerians.
The president made the clarification on Thursday in Abuja when he received a Letter of Credence from the Head of Delegation of the European Union to Nigeria, Mr Ketil Iversen Karlsen.
His words: “Our insistence on probity is to encourage people to be accountable, and accept honesty as a lifestyle so as to secure the future of our youths.’’
The president said that in view of the benefits associated with probity, the government had been committed to ensuring that corruption was eliminated as that would make resources abundant for the development of the nation.
He added that the need to protect the economy of the country had made the government hesitant in signing the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) among ECOWAS countries.
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Signing the documents, Buhari pointed out, would expose the industries and small businesses to external pressures which would not be in the interest of providing jobs for Nigerians.
“We are not enthusiastic about signing the EPA because of our largely youthful population.
“We are still struggling to provide jobs for them, and we want our youths to be kept busy.
“Presently, our industries cannot compete with the more efficient and highly technologically driven industries in Europe.
“We have to protect our industries and our youths.’’
Speaking at the occasion, Karlsen said the EU would continue to give the present administration the necessary support in major areas including security, economy and the fight against corruption.
