THE Presidency said yesterday that President Muhammadu Buhari was baffled by the high-level corruption still prevalent in the country, despite efforts made by his government to fight the malaise.

It, however, noted that the President was above scandal and had no account with corrupt money anywhere in the world.

Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, who stated these in an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, yesterday, said: “If you ask the President this question, (why corruption is still rife in the country), he will equally tell you he is baffled by the fact that people, who otherwise would have been in jail are riding their Rolls-Royce and their aircraft, roaming around.”

He explained that under the constitution, the President or the Executive arm could only investigate and prosecute suspected corrupt persons.

“However, the moment the President or the Executive arm takes these cases to court, his job is done. And it is up to the court to determine whether one is guilty or not,” he noted.

According to him, under the Buhari government, the highest officials in the nation’s parliament and judiciary have been prosecuted on corruption-related matters.

“The third highest person in the Executive arm of government is still undergoing trial,” he said.

Shehu also noted that his principal, President Buhari, was above scandal and had no bank account stashed with proceeds of corruption, and therefore, fears no scandal or prosecution after office, insisting “the President is still what he is; he is still above board.”

Speaking further, the presidential scribe said: “As his spokesperson, I go to bed, I sleep soundly convinced that nobody, whether from Nigeria or outside the country, can call me to say we have discover this bank account and your boss has these huge millions. That’s not Buhari; he is well-above scandal and that is how it will end.

Buhari, 80, will end his two-term tenure of eight years in less than two weeks when the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, is expected to be sworn in.

It will be recalled, however, that under Buhari’s watch, Nigeria fell from 154 out of 180 countries and territories in the latest ranking of the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index released by Transparency International in January 2023. (Vanguard)

Update news