The Federal Government has said that the revival of the Nigerian economy can only in a commitment driven environment through fast-tracking the solutions to the multifaceted challenges confronting the country. Speaking at the 2017 Annual National Management Conference of the Nigerian Institute of Management, NIM, President Muhammadu Buhari, also said that the total elimination of all forms of corrupt practices must be in the front burner and the collective consciousness of all Nigerian at all times.
Buhari, who was represented by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, said that the current administration would continue to fight corruption and other associated social vices at all levels of the national life until they are exterminated from the country. According to him, the total elimination of corruption from all spheres of our national life would help set the country on the path of greatness and prosperity. He said, “The Nigerian project is faced with several challenges on every facet of the society and the solutions to these challenges must be fast tracked if we must get the economy up and running again.”
Buhari said since the inception of the current administration, the Federal Government had been doing all within its powers to entrench good governance founded on corporate governance and due process in all its dealings. He argued that the institution of corporate governance had aided the administration in delivering the dividends of democracy to the nation’s teeming populace especially in the areas of providing security, fighting corruption, employment generation and diversification of the economy. He noted that achieving the status of a great nation was the reward of great leadership built on good governance with strict adherence to the ideals and principles of corporate governance. “This is our motivation and value proposition. My administration will, therefore, continue to fight corruption and associated social vices at all levels until they are exterminated from our body polity,” the President said.
He urged professional bodies in the country, corporate bodies and well meaning Nigerians to emulate the gesture of the NIM by lending their support to the current administration instead of sitting by to criticise every attempt at governance. According to him, it is by synergising with government that we can all build the Nigeria of our dreams.
Also speaking, President and Chairman of Council of the NIM, Mr. Munzali Jubril, said the theme of the conference, ‘Corporate Governance and Institutional Performance,’ was chosen based on the realisation of the Institute that most of the sleazy and unethical practices witnesses in the country over time were due to flagrant disregard for corporate governance. He further argued that non-compliance with the tenets and ideals of corporate governance was the major reason for poor performance in some businesses and public sector institutions. He said, “Since it is a truism that there is a direct correlation between adherence to corporate governance principles and institutional performance, there is a new compelling need to draw the attention of the nation, businesses and those who manage men and materials at different levels to the issue of corporate governance.
Jubril declared that corporate governance keeps a company and government honest and out of trouble, adding that non-adherence to the principles would see institutions cutting corners, a surge in defective products, while management would grow complacent and corrupt.
He said, “The end result is a fall that will occur when gravity — in the form of audited financial reports, criminal investigations and government probes — finally catches up, bankrupting the company or government overnight. “To stem the tide, those in governance both in private and public sector of the country must beat a retreat, retrace their steps and ensure that official business is conducted with recourse to the principles of due process and corporate governance.”
