Corruption reports on Nigeria are overstated – President Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday, again admitted that corruption was currently eating deep into the nation's economic system.

He however said that the reports of the menace were being overstated.

The President said this at the presidential power reform transactions signing ceremony held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

This came barely three days after the United States government indicted the Federal Government of massive and widespread corruption.

According to the US Department of State's report, government officials and agencies frequently engage in corrupt practices with impunity.

This was contained in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012, which was released on Friday.

In the report, the judiciary and security agencies, especially the police, were said to be lacking in transparency.

But Jonathan insisted that although there were cases of corruption in the country, the menace was being "over-amplified."

The President said, "Let me continue to assure Nigerians that yes, there are issues of corruption in this country but somehow it has been over amplified.

"People should watch how we have been conducting government business. We have been bringing down the issues of corruption gradually.

"If you look at the fertiliser sector, you will agree with me that if government actors are interested, we would have continued the same story of buying all kinds of things, awarding all kinds of contracts in the name of fertiliser. But we are not doing that, we have sanitised that sector.

"Look at the power sector, when we started initially there were stories in the papers but at the end, even when I was in the US, companies from there that participated said publicly that the process was transparent and issues of corruption was not there.

"At least, today we have also heard directly, that the process was transparent and that there were no issues of manipulations or corruptions."

Jonathan said his administration was committed to ensuring that the right things were done in the interest of the country.

"I plead with Nigerians that the country belongs to all of us and we will all protect what belongs to us, what belongs to our children and what belongs to the generation yet unborn. We are committed to doing our best for this country God willing, we will succeed," he said.

On the signing of the power deal, the President told Nigerians that his government cared for them and that he would not rest until he fixes the nation's power sector.