Abuja – President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in New York, called on development partners to join the fight against corruption by returning ill-gotten financial assets and halting future illicit financial flows to their countries.
Mr Femi Adesina, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, said Buhari stated this in New York at the High-Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.
The meeting was to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development.
Buhari said that such collective action “will guarantee a stronger international defence of the right to development.’’
He maintained that illicit financial assets stashed abroad deprived developing countries including Nigeria of their national wealth and resources needed for development.
The president cautioned that non-repatriation of illicit financial assets could impinge on the determination of States to achieve an all-inclusive 2030 sustainable development.
Buhari, therefore, called on the United Nations “to remain vocal and active in addressing the negative impact of non-repatriation of illicit financial assets on their countries of origin.”
“As soon as stolen assets are legally established, they should swiftly be repatriated.”
Buhari explained that his administration was fighting the scourge of corruption headlong “because it contributes to the denial of the resources required for development’’.
The president welcomed the commemoration of three decades of the Declaration on the Right to Development, which he observed, coincided with the first anniversary of the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“It reminds us all of the essence of development and provides us with the opportunity to reaffirm commitments to converting this right into the policies and operational activities of relevant actors at the national, regional and international levels.”
He stated that as a developing country, Nigeria considered the Right to Development an inalienable right of fundamental importance.
He noted that at the national level, his administration had been making strenuous efforts to ensure that the right to development was at the centre of all development initiatives.
Th e president reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to the UN Charter and other international conventions that uphold the Right to Development.
He also drew the attention of the international community to the urgent need to address the lop-sided terms of trade between developed and developing countries.
Buhari noted that this had impacted negatively on the capacity of many developing countries to embark on development programmes for the benefit of their peoples.
“Nigeria is convinced that the Right to Development is a shared responsibility considering the growing inequality and poverty resulting from climate change impact, natural disasters, violent extremism, social unrest and deprivation.
“The Right to Development must be promoted and protected like all other rights. Its universality and interdependence are indisputable,’’ he declared.