The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has described corruption in Nigeria as “a big Elephant in the room” that must exit for the development of the country.

Obi said that is exactly what he plans to do if elected as the president of the country in 2023, saying he intends to take corruption away from Nigeria.

The LP presidential candidate said this at the 52nd Annual ICAN Conference in Abuja on Wednesday.

Obi said: “It is no secret that corruption has been endemic and one of the biggest obstacles to our economic progress in Nigeria. Corruption is the big elephant in the room.

“In the past few days we have seen videos of illegal pipelines connected to national oil pipeline networks, running for kilometers where billions of dollars that should have been used for development and welfare, have been illegally siphoned away, for up to nine years, according to reports.

“What I first expected was that the hierarchy of our top oil management bureaucracy will immediately resign, because without mincing words, this is irrefutable evidence of their incompetence, if not collaboration. My administration, when we come in, will tackle this corruption head on. We will have zero tolerance for corruption.”

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Speaking on the involvement of accountants in corruption in the country, the former governor of Anambra State said: “If you look at the written financial regulations in any establishment, you will see watertight regulations of auditing, vetting, tendering, vouchering, joint signatories and other safeguards, designed to check embezzlement and corruption, yet these sharp practices and misappropriated sums continue to rise, and I understand that there is now a Nigerian record of almost N109 billion allegedly embezzled by an accountant.”

On loans and borrowing, Peter Obi said: “To ensure sustainability and resilience, we will stop borrowing for consumption. All loans must be invested in regenerative projects.

“We shall pursue a drastic reduction in cost of governance and corruption, improve ease of doing business to attract Foreign Direct Investment to jumpstart industrialisation and when borrowing is unavoidable, it will be strictly for production.”

He further enjoined Chartered Accountants to “increase the level of peer surveillance and internal discipline among your ranks.”

“If we cannot properly account for our finances the country is finished. Let us as accountants, do more to check and stop corruption,” Obi said.

The LP presidential candidate added that accounting was a requisite in ensuring sustainable governance and a stabilising factor in development, saying: “Proper accounting serves as checks on the activities of the three arms of government as well as the three tiers of government.”

The Star