Osinbajo charged Nigerian ambassadors to deliver on national mandate

Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo, has urged the newly appointed ambassadors to exercise effort to change the inglorious description of the nation occasioned by corruption in order to improve the nation’s image overseas.Osinbajo said this at the end of a four-day orientation program hosted by the ministry of finance for 44 non-career ambassadors-designate which came to a close Tuesday in Abuja.Osinbajo identified that “Corruption is an existential issue that will affect whether our country survives, and we must go beyond talking about it, to acting”.Osinbajo encouraged the ambassadors-designate to be worthy advocates of the country and hinted on the present administration’s mandate of restoring the economy, security and fighting corruption.“We are honoured to be served by such distinguished individuals like yourselves and we’re proud to have you represent us,” he said.He guaranteed the ambassadors-designate saying, “there’s great hope for our economy and a turnaround is in sight. People who come to the embassies must be treated with respect”.“I do not know any other country that has as much resources like Nigeria including men, women and naturals resource, endowments, we’re tremendously blessed,” he remarked.The acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, in his paper titled “Anti-Corruption Agenda and the Recovery of Illicit Financial Assets from Abroad: The Role of Nigerian Missions”, advised the new ambassadorial appointees to empathize with the nation in the fight against corruption.“We are making you our ambassadors to fight corruption wherever you go, because we alone at the EFCC cannot do the job without your support,” he urged.While emphasizing the negative results of corruption on the country, majorly illegal transit of funds, he said that “corruption flourishes when good people fail to confront it”.In his words, Nigeria pulls the highest percent of illegal flows among other African countries with about 68.1 percent. He made it clear that such corrupt practices were perpetrated through tax evasion and illegal transfer by multinationals.“You will be involved in tracing and recovery of our stolen assets and facilitating the repatriation of those funds and the perpetrators, because this is very key to your role,” he charged.He also reminded that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has a zero-tolerance disposition to corruption, encouraging them to “key into our mission of ridding Nigeria of corruption, as this will be your greatest service to Nigeria”.“We have posted some of our operators to these foreign missions, and we will need you to work with us,” he said, noting that the progress made in the fight against corruption must be sustained.The EFCC boss, in addition, said the anti-graft agency is working in collaboration with other world bodies like Federal Bureau of Investigations, (FBI), the United Metropolitan Police and the Department of Justice amongst others. Those collaborations, which according to him, has helped the war against corruption in foreign climes, must be maintained.The four-day orientation program, chaired by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Khadija Abba Ibrahim, was held at the Old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, equally had presentations by the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, Minister for Solid Minerals, Kayode Fayemi, National Security Adviser, Maj Gen M B Monguno (rtd) and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri.