A presidential candidate in the recently conducted general elections, Chief Sam Eke, has tasked the president-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, to lead by example in his fight against corruption. Speaking in an interview with Daily Trust, Chief Eke noted that General Buhari will have to declare his assets to prove to Nigerians that the battle against a virus gradually becoming endemic, corruption, will be fought with all sincerity.He said; “In terms of fighting corruption, I told Nigerians during the presidential debate one of the ways of fighting corruption. Everybody that has to come on board must declare his assets including General Muhammadu Buhari not just going to Code of Conduct Bureau to fill one document which Nigerians do not have access to.
“We are saying if you have the enormous resources, if you have the ability to run a presidential campaign, you should be able to take up a newspaper advert and publish your assets and liabilities for Nigerians to know. By so doing, by the time you are stepping out of office, we can now compare your entry and exit points, but for one to just go to Code of Conduct Bureau and fill that document, we are not taking that.
“For Buhari to fight corruption too, as a leader, he must show total example. You don’t only have to be prudent, you must be seen to be prudent. These are the major factors that if taken into consideration, corruption will be nipped in the bud.
“What Nigeria needs at this point in time is for every one of us to become a new person and because of the way corruption has eaten deep into our fabrics, we don’t need to assume anybody to be innocent, everybody should be seen to be guilty until proven innocent”.
On his expectations from General Buhari and other elective office holders, he had this to say;
“They should know that power is transient; it is not permanent so once you are in power, serve the public well rather than servicing your pocket. They should know that the best way to come back to power is to perform. If you perform, no matter the amount of sabotage, no matter who is trying to pull you down, the electorate will say no, the government in power has done well, let’s vote them to continue.
“Also, the president-elect should know that he is the president of all Nigerians and not the leader or president of the APC. Even in the peace accord, there is an agreement to operate an all inclusive government. Outside him and Jonathan, he has 12 other presidential candidates that contested against him in the elections. Let him look around and see where he will say you come on board and contribute your quota to national development.
“All we are interested in is a better, more prosperous, united, stable Nigeria where everybody will go about his businesses without being molested, where state of origin will be a thing of the past. He should also realise that this country must remain one and that power comes from God, let him not use the outcome of the elections to determine his polity”.
Chief Sam Eke was the presidential candidate of the CPP in the recently conducted general elections, and a former governorship candidate in Abia state in 2007 and 2011. He is currently the national chairman of the party.
Eke stepped down for the PDP presidential candidate, Goodluck Jonathan, a few days before the election, a decision he said was taken for national unity and continuity.
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