I Left Jonathan’s Government Due To High Level Corruption – Ex-minister Confesses

A former Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola, on Tuesday explained why he left the cabinet of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

He said, “Our culture of impunity is the bane of the entrenched corruption in our society. The value destruction and corruption undermine any economic development or social change we may aspire for our nation. 

“Mismanagement and misallocation of resources, coupled with an unprecedented level of corruption have been at their highest in the history of our nation in the last six years. 

“Performance or success in public space was measured by the conversion rate of public funds into private accounts. It looks as if democracy has been substituted with kleptocracy.”

Babalola, in a paper presented at the 45th Annual Accountants Conference and 50th Anniversary celebration of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria described the lack of transparency in the oil sector under Jonathan as alarming.

Babalola, who chaired the Federation Account Allocation Committee between 2007 and 2010, said he left the previous administration owing to mismanagement of the nation’s resources.

In his paper titled “Achieving the Nigeria of Our Dream: The Responsibility of Professional Accountants,” he urged the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to confront the endemic corruption whole-heartedly in order to resolve the country’s mal-functionality.

He recalled, drawing the attention of the nation to the parlous state of the NNPC’s accounts five years ago but many sympathisers feared for his life as it amounted to what he described as 'stepping on a snake'.

He said, “I was unperturbed and unruffled but ready and willing to take a walk as a statement of intent that if they wanted to continue in that decadence of resource mismanagement, I was not going to be a part of it.