President Muhammadu Buhari has said the anti-corruption war of his administration was not negotiable.

Buhari said it was a must for him to fight graft because that was one of the reasons he was elected, saying since his electoral promises to Nigerians included fighting corruption, he could not afford to let the people down.

He said this while receiving a former South African President, Thabo Mbeki, who heads the African Union High-Level Panel on Illicit Flows from Africa, who was in Nigeria to give Buhari, who is the current Champion of African Union Anti-Corruption Campaign, some updates.

The President said since his electoral promises to Nigerians included fighting corruption, he could not afford to let the people down.

He said, for this administration, fighting corruption is non-negotiable. It is a must.

“We must fight corruption frontally, because it’s one of the reasons we got elected.

“We campaigned on three fundamental issues; security, reviving the economy, and fight against corruption. It’s the reason we got elected, and we can’t afford to let our people down.”

Noting that the government was making progress on the anti-corruption war, “and not just talking,” the President said he was very pleased with the assignment the former South African President was carrying out for the African continent.

He submitted that when Africa is vigorous with the war against corruption, “we will eventually appeal to the conscience of the rest of the world.”

In his remarks, Mbeki said corruption was an African challenge that must be responded to, as development challenges could only be met through the check of illicit financial flows.

He said he was delighted that Buhari touches on the issue in most of his speeches, with the most recent being at the United Nations General Assembly last week.