Chukwudi Nweje and Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana has challenged Nigerians to take advantage of the Federal Government’s policy on anti-corruption to mobilise the masses to demand accountability from all public officers.
He said the fight against corruption will not succeed without the involvement of the people.
The rights activist said the fight against corruption should go side by side with the struggle to free the economy from those he called “local saboteurs and foreign vampires.”
He said looted funds recovered by the Federal Government should be used to establish industries in the 774 local government areas of the country and to equip schools and public hospitals around the country.
Falana spoke at the 18th Anti-Corruption Situation Room on Review of the Fight Against Corruption organised by the Human Rights and Environmental Development Agenda HEDA in Abuja yesterday.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 tears will not be possible with the government’s current economic policies which, he said promotes poverty among the generality of Nigerians.
“The labour movement and other progressive forces in the country should not hesitate to take advantage of the new official policy to mobilise the masses to demand accountability from all public officers. This should start with popular participation in the preparation and execution of annual budgets of all tiers of government,” he said.
He also charged Nigerians, who have paid ransom to kidnapers for the release of their abducted loved ones to sue the Federal Government for the refund of the ransom to them because it is the responsibility of the government to protect lives and property in the country.
In his view, since the government has not lived up to its responsibility of securing the lives and property of Nigerians and foreigners in the country, it should refund monies paid to kidnapers.