Buhari Dismisses Cameron’s Remark Describing Nigeria as ‘Fantastically Corrupt'

President Muhammadu Buhari has dismissed the remark made by the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, who in a conversation with Queen Elizabeth II described Nigeria and Afghanistan as “fantastically corrupt”.

Buhari, who departed for the United Kingdom yesterday to attend a global summit on anti-corruption, said the British PM’s unguarded remark was not reflective of his administration’s fight against corruption.

 

A statement by the president’s media aide, Mr. Garba Shehu, said: “It is certainly not reflective of the good work that the president is doing. The eyes of the world are on what is happening here.

“The Prime Minister must be looking at an old snapshot of Nigeria. Things are changing with corruption and everything else.

“That, we believe is the reason they chose him as a keynote speaker at the pre-summit conference.”

Buhari, in the statement, also thanked the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who tried to correct Cameron after his remark, saying: “Thank you to the Archbishop. We very much cherish the good relationship between our two countries and nothing should stand in the way of improving those relations.”

Also coming out in Nigeria’s defence yesterday was Transparency International, the global anti-corruption watchdog, stating the country was making strong efforts in the fight against corruption.