Politics
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has told Process and Industrial Development (P&ID), the Irish engineering firm that recently won a $9.6 billion judgment against Nigeria, that it will not succeed in its quest to defraud the country.
Buhari stated this at an address, yesterday, at the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA74) in New York assuring the administration “is facing the challenges of corruption head-on.”
A British commercial court had granted the company powers to seize Nigerian assets worth $9.6 billion over a failed gas processing deal where the federal government was said not have fulfilled its own part.
But Buhari, who reacted for the first time to the judgment, described it as a scam and warned of the government’s resolve to tackle international criminals.
“We are giving notice to international criminal groups by the vigorous prosecution of the P&ID scam attempting to cheat Nigeria of billions of dollars,” said the president.
Buhari held social media outlets as responsible for the rise in crimes, such as mass killings, calling on major technology companies to be alive to their responsibilities.
“They cannot be allowed to continue to facilitate the spread of religious, racist, xenophobic and false messages capable of inciting whole communities against each other, leading to loss of many lives. This could tear some countries apart,” said Buhari
Buhari said no threat is more potent than poverty and exclusion, noting, “they are the source from which common criminality, insurgency, cross-border crimes, human trafficking and its terrible consequences draw their inspiration.”
“Poverty is one of the greatest challenges facing our world. Its eradication is an indispensable requirement for achieving sustainable development,” said Buhari.
On the 2019 presidential elections, Buhari said: “Our people backed the politics of tolerance, inclusion and community over the politics of protest and division.”
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to issues which impinge on global peace, security, progress, democracy and development.
Sunonline
-Sep 25, 2019 @ 08:05 GMT |
Tags: Buhari to P&ID: You can’t scam Nigeria of $9.6bn
