Interior Minister advises staff to shun corruption

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has urged staff of the ministry to shun all forms of corrupt practices in the conduct of government business.

The minister gave the advice in a statement issued by Mr Mohammed Manga, Director Press and Public Relations of the ministry in Abuja on Thursday.

Manga quoted Aregbesola as saying that the fight against insecurity and corruption is a collective responsibility of all Nigerians.

The minister, therefore, called on staff of the ministry to shun all forms of corruption and support President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration in the determination to improve security, revitalise the economy and entrench transparency in governance.

Aregbesola said that if all transactions were opened and uncovered, corruption would be kept at bay and “our society will be secured, which will also lead to civilisation’’.

He said the ministry was set to deliver on the Agenda of President Buhari, particularly in the area of security and safety.

“As members of staff of this ministry, our responsibility to this nation is huge.

“We are to supervise the general implementation of policies and projects, geared toward the maintenance of safety and security of Nigerians,’’ the minister said.

He called on staff of the ministry to contribute their quota toward achieving the programmes and policies of government.

Aregbesola said, especially in relation to the mandate of the ministry which is provision of internal security and citizenship integrity through discipline and high dedication to service.

He urged the staff to guide against stagnation and improve on their contributions toward ensuring a safe society to bring about socio-economic development.

“If you are not improving yourself, you are stagnated and you’ll begin to degenerate. We can’t afford to stagnate; we must keep improving so as to keep Nigeria safe and secured,’’ he said.

The minister assured the staff of prioritising their welfare issues.

He said: “I am here to provide purposeful leadership, motivational and inspiring leadership.

“Those are the key things I’m supposed to give you but you must also be ready to deliver on the SET objectives of the present administration which is Security, Economy and Transparency (SET).’’

Ukpenetus Bassey, the Chairman, Joint Union Negotiation Council in the ministry, pledged the total loyalty and support of staff to President Buhari’s administration’s SET objectives to move the country to the next level.