Buhari Launches ‘Change Begins With Me’ …Anti-Graft Group Rejects Campaign

President Muhammadu Buhari has launched a re-orientation campaign tagged, “Change Begins with Me’’ designed to change the attitude of Nigerians for better.
The campaign is similar to “War Against Indiscipline” (WAI) which he introduced as the military Head of State in 1984.
The president said on Wednesday in Abuja that the new campaign was an effort to sanitise the society.
He said that sanity could only be achieved through a sustained citizens’ attitudinal change.
The president challenged all Nigerians to partake in the national re-orientation campaign.
“Inded, I say to the glory of Almighty God, Change Begins with Me,” he emphasized.
The president expressed optimism that with a consistent campaign and determination of the Nigerian public, the desired change would be achieve.
Buhari vowed to eliminate rent-seeking from the nation’s public service.
He told the gathering of top government officials, civil society organizations and private sector operators that he was not under any illusion that the needed change would happen overnight
President Buhari urged Nigerians to shun corruption so as to achieve a better Nigeria.
He advised everyone to exhibit the virtues of honesty and hard work in all their interactions.
Buhari urged Nigerians to always resist the temptation of doing things in the old ways.
Information and culture minister Lai Mohammed presented multimedia materials on the campaign and solicited media support for the crusade.
The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Garba Abari, said the agency would take the campaign to every nook and cranny of the country
Meanwhile, an anti-corruption organisation, BudgIT, has questioned the sincerity of President Muhammadu Buhari’s newly inaugurated campaign which is tagged, ‘Change Begins With Me.’
Buhari had, yesterday, said before Nigerians demand to see the changes he promised them during the 2015 election, they must first change their own attitude by shunning corruption and other social vices.
However, BudgIT, which advocates transparency in governance, said in a Facebook post that the President could not demand a change from Nigerians when his government had failed to promote change through transparency.
In a post entitled, ‘What is change and where should change start from?’, the group said the government at all levels had failed to change, and then, wondered why they should demand a change from Nigerians.
The statement read, “Let the change start with National Assembly telling us how N115billion was spent. Let the change start with a cogent explanation why Nigerian government needs 11 aircraft in a recession.
“Let change start with the government responding to our FOI (Freedom of Information) responses on how much money has been given to states as bailout.
“Let change start with the government explaining why it released N400billion for capital expenditure, with no project details. How long do we keep running with opacity?
“Let change start with the government telling the people how much funds have been recovered and who returned what.”
It also slammed the Buhari-led administration for the secret recruitments in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Prisons Service.
BudgIT added, “Let change start with the reversal of illegal recruitment into government agencies that has got no action from the government. Let us stop making change a meaningless word. Releasing N400billion for capital projects without details is not the way to go.
“Change starts with accountability of public funds and radical transparency. What is the government changing before asking you for change? Are the convoys less. Presidential fleet less?
“The government wants everything, including change from citizens. What is it giving back? What is it sacrificing? Nigerians need to change, but it starts with its leadership showing the right example.”