The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity in the Office of the Vice President during the former President Muhammadu Buhari administration, Laolu Akande, has said that the administration failed when it came to the issue of fighting corruption.
The then SSA to the President said this on Tuesday when he featured in a discussion on a X Space platform that engaged him.
Akande said what made it worse was that Buhari also held the position of the Minister of Petroleum Resources.
He said: “The reality of what happened during the Buhari administration was that when it came to fighting corruption, the government failed.
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“The administration did not fulfill its promise to eradicate corruption, and it’s very embarrassing.
“Now, people say: ‘Hey, you are part of it.’
“But yes, I served as the media head for the vice president.
“You might ask: ‘Did you try to address the issue while you were there?’
“Well, my job was to speak for the Vice President and, by extension, for the government.
“I didn’t have an executive role.
“Okay?
“The President himself was the Minister of Oil, so I’ll admit the administration missed the opportunity to solve the problem, and I’m personally embarrassed about that.
“I’ve said it publicly before.
“This is not the first time I’m mentioned it, but the truth is, we have to face it.
“I’ve even gone as far as explaining that.
“Now, what has happened is that the Nigerian electorate has given the APC (All Progressives Congress) another chance to ensure that the promises made in 2015 are fulfilled.
“I believe that the APC has wasted eight years of Nigeria’s time, and I’m personally disappointed.
“But the reality is that this is what we have to deal with.
“I’ve publicly stated that President Tinubu is the one who has the opportunity now to make up for all that for the party and the country.
“So I’m not going to make excuses.
“I mean, many of us joined the campaign in 2015.
“I personally joined the campaign in 2014 because I supported the idea that Buhari was coming up, okay?
“We all felt that he was not corrupt and would work to solve the country’s problems.
“I personally got involved when they picked (President Yemi) Osinbajo (SAN) as vice president.
“I said: ‘Okay, if these people chose someone like Osinbajo, they must mean business.
“And I went to serve with him.
“But today is not the day to talk about everything that happened during that time.
“Nigerians who paid attention saw the difference when we took action in this country.
“But I don’t want to get into that because it will open up a whole lot of other things.
“But to answer your question, yes, the government that I served in did not solve the problem of corruption.
“That’s the truth.”
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