The former chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu has admonished Gombe State commissioner designates, Special Assistants, and Permanent Secretaries to make a personal commitment not to tamper with public funds.
Ribadu stated this on Monday at the commencement of a two-day retreat for commissioner designates, Special Assistants, and Permanent Secretaries, where he delivered a keynote presentation on anti-corruption and good governance.
He said corruption is the cause of Nigeria’s underdevelopment, lack of power and poverty.
He noted that since President Muhammadu Buhari became the substantive minister of petroleum, corruption has been reduced to the barest minimum in the petroleum sector.
“Make a personal vow not to steal public funds. You can’t stop corruption in the police when the civil service is still corrupt. Stop corruption and see what will happen in the society. Corruption erodes trust in leadership. A leader with soiled hands has no moral right to question his subordinates.
“For you, all this is, is a stepping stone. You must not fall for the banana peel thereby denting yourself. EFCC, NFIU are capable and they can see you. They have the infrastructure to track every single penny stolen from the government. Things have changed, and the world has changed, so let us also change.
“Since President Buhari took over as the minister of petroleum. I have not seen people become billionaires from oil business because there is a leader who is not corrupt ” he said.
Also speaking at the event, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha said that for Gombe State government to succeed in internal security, it must work closely with traditional institutions.
Mustapha said, “Let me urge the government of Gombe State to work closely with traditional institutions for the purpose of entrenching the policies of Federal government in the area of community policing. We must return to it if we have the desire to protect our communities”.

Governor Inuwa Yahaya, in his remarks scored his government high in three critical sectors. He charged the commissioners designate to be prudent.
The areas include water supply, mobilisation of road construction projects and fertilizer supply.