WASHINGTON, DC – Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan visited the Nigerian Chancery in Washington DC en route Nigeria after a very busy visit to the United States of America. He was in the US to attend the Nuclear Security Summit. As expected, Nigerians turned out en mass to participate at the reception ceremony. Dr. Jonathan has promised to run a clean election next year, that will be acceptable to all citizens and the international community.
Dr. Jonathan disclosed this yesterday in Washington DC as he explained his four pet priorities of electoral reform, anti-corruption, Niger Delta development, and power reform, when he spoke to a cross section of policy, business, and diplomatic leaders in the American capital on his vision to rebuild Nigeria.
Mr. Jonathan said the challenge before Nigeria in 2011 would be how to “deliver substantively on the promise of electoral reform and credible elections,” and pledged to an apparently enthusiastic audience that, “I can tell you all here that I have no fears of running a clean election in 2011, an election that we can all say is acceptable to the global community.”
Responding to questions on the rising wave of cyber crime, corruption, and the alleged decline in the current anti-corruption enforcement in the country, Mr. Jonathan admitted that cybercrime is now one of the major hindrances to foreign direct investment in Nigeria, a fact which he said has negatively contributed to “great moments of missed opportunities,” but sought international understanding and media cooperation to engage with the difficult and challenging work of turning the country round.
Sighting the former boss of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, in the crowd, the acting president put him on the spotlight by paying homage to and thanking the evidently embarrassed Mr. Ribadu for what he called the “aggressive battle under his tenure at the EFCC to bring the problem to a low level.”
Mr. Jonathan said he has received a lot of calls on the problem of corruption in the country, but said it is important to respond to the matter more strategically. “It appears that EFCC is not aggressive enough these days, and people have asked me to look into that organization
Mr. Jonathan drew laughter from the hall when he said he would not make further promises on the power sector, but he said he will soon put in place a seven-man expert committee working under his direct supervision to confront the power problem in the country. The committee will work for an initial three months period to see if that vision is viable.
On the Niger Delta, Mr. Jonathan said current plans are moving from disarmament to rehabilitation of the 20,921 armed youths of the Delta, saying he looked to the future of reintegrating the youths back into the mainstream of society as major actors in the development of the country. “I hope institutions like the CGD will help work to see that the United Nations come up quickly with a treaty-based solution to the illicit traffic.”
Agency reports by Trendy Africa. Official Foreign Press Media in the USA
Photos by Dami Odetola (Executive Editor TA, DC) exclusively for Trendy Africa USA
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