TheCable

Senate President Bukola Saraki says he will not tag Nigeria a corrupt country because he prefers to market it.

Although he admitted that there were cases of corruption in the country, Saraki said he would not label Nigeria as such.

The nation’s number three citizen said this in an interview with the BBC Hausa service.

“My take is that I must market my country, so I am not going to be able to label the country as such,” he said.

“Yes, there are issues that we must address, but I am not going to dwell so much on that because I need to market my country so that I can get private sector in flow.

“I must create an enabling environment that will encourage growth, because without that, it will be difficult for us to be able to see the kind of growth that we are talking about. Government alone cannot do it.”

And on whether he had witnessed cases of corruption in the country, he said: “Of course there are, that is why we have oversight functions. Like many other countries, we have those kinds of challenges, but we have moved a long way‎.”

Saraki, who is facing charges of false declaration of assets at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), also said he acquired 95 percent of his wealth before he became a public servant.