Corruption is fighting back vigorously,” Buhari says

President Muhammadu Buhari has reassured that the ongoing anti-corruption campaign in Nigeria will be won in spite of the fact that “the anti-corruption war is tough and gruelling”.

A statement released on Thursday in Abuja by Femi Adesina, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, said Mr. Buhari gave the assurance at a meeting with the American Secretary of State, John Kerry, on Wednesday.

The meeting was on the margin of the conference on climate change, COP22, in Marrakech, Morocco.

Mr. Buhari was quoted as saying: “corruption is fighting back vigorously”.

The statement further quoted the President as saying that corrupt people had accumulated a formidable arsenal of illicit wealth, which they were now deploying against the government on diverse fronts.

“But it is a war we are determined to win, and which we will win.

“People of goodwill are behind us, countries like America and many others are with us, and we will surely win,’’ the president said.

The statement said Mr. Buhari updated Mr. Kerry on the war against insurgency in the north-eastern part of Nigeria and the efforts being made to tackle humanitarian problems arising from the insurgency.

It also said that the president informed the U.S Secretary of State that a presidential committee had been inaugurated “under Gen. T.Y. Danjuma, a man of high integrity.”

On the unrest in the Niger Delta area, which manifests in the sabotage of critical oil and power installations, President Buhari said the engagement process was proceeding rapidly, adding that it was rather difficult bringing the main protagonists of the insurgency under one umbrella.

According to the statement, the president expressed Nigeria’s happiness with America’s support on different fronts and assured that the economic challenges facing the country are being “frontally tackled’’ so that the country can overcome them as soon as possible.

In his remarks, Mr. Kerry expressed delight at the many successes of the Buhari administration.

He pledged continued U.S support in Nigeria’s bid to overcome security, humanitarian, political, and economic challenges.

As the Barrack Obama administration exits next January, Mr. Kerry said he would love to continue engaging with Nigeria, even in a private capacity.

He described President Buhari as “a strong international partner in the battle against violent extremism.”