Ex-Minister Critiques Tinubu's Remark In Qatar Regarding Officials Seeking Bribes

Osita Chidoka

“It was an unfortunate statement...”

Osita Chidoka called President Bola Tinubu's remark about bribe-seeking government officials “unfortunate” and criticized it.

During an investor meeting in Qatar, Tinubu had instructed the attendees to report any Nigerian official who requested a bribe, claiming that the nation was eliminating any obstacles to investment.

The statement, according to former aviation minister Chidoka, was inappropriate because it demarkets Nigeria in the eyes of foreign investors.

“It was an unfortunate statement. I was shocked and embarrassed that he was continuing Buhari's type of de-marketing of Nigeria.

“There are many Nigerians who will not ask for a bribe or disturb people. The people who will probably ask you for a bribe are in the minority. The job of the President is to sell Nigeria, to be the chief spokesperson and chief salesperson of Nigeria,” he said on Channels Television's current affairs show Sunday Politics.

“I think this is the lacuna that comes when there is a poor briefing from the agencies of government. I don't really blame the President. I blame the inability of people like the Minister of Information and Foreign Affairs for the theme of the government.

 

“The government has to have a theme like we are pro-investment, we want to attract foreign exchange. Our mission is to deodorise Nigeria, to tell a good story about Nigeria, to tell Africa's rising narrative, and to say that this change of government is a new mandate that tells you how Nigeria has been able to sustain democracy for 24 going to 25 years now.

“So the story about Nigeria is not a story of bribery and corruption. And we don't want a President who people are calling from Qatar to report a bribe. They should report them to the police, EFCC, ICPC, or any other office of government that deals with that.”