President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday arrived the United Kingdom to participate at the London Anti-corruption Summit to be hosted by the British Prime Minister, David Cameron.
He was received at the airport by Representative of Queen Elizabeth II, Major Jeremy Fern; National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Khadija Ibrahim, and acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu.
Buhari’s arrival followed shortly after the Presidency kicked against a statement by Cameron calling Nigeria “fantastically corrupt”.
The British PM was caught on video telling a group which included the Queen; Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby; Leader of the Commons, Chris Grayling, and the Commons Speaker, John Bercow, that Nigeria and Afghanistan were “possibly the two most corrupt countries in the world”.
A statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Garba Shehu, shortly after the video went viral, said, “This is embarrassing to us, to us say the least, given the good work that the President is doing.
“The eyes of the world are on what is happening here.”
Buhari argued that the “Prime Minister must be looking at an old snapshot of Nigeria. Things are changing with corruption and everything else.”
The President, however, welcomed Welby’s remarks that this particular President (Buhari) is actually not corrupt.
“Thank you to the Archbishop. We have great admiration for the good relationship between our two countries,” the Presidency said.
Buhari will, ahead of the summit’s opening on Thursday, deliver a keynote address titled “Why We Must Tackle Corruption Together” at a pre-summit conference of development partners, the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, Transparency International and other civil society groups on Wednesday.
He is expected to have a separate meeting with Cameron to discuss ongoing Nigeria-Britain collaboration in the war against corruption and terrorism, as well as other issues, including trade and economic relations between both countries before returning home on Friday.
