President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in London said that Nigeria is favourably disposed to the initiative of restricting corrupt people from traveling, investing and doing business abroad.
This was even as the president unveiled the Open Contracting Data Standard, (OCDS) a new strategy to effectively curb corruption in Nigeria.
The new plan was contained in Nigeria's country statement to the Anti-Corruption Summit hosted by Prime Minister, David Cameron of Britain.
The president said that Nigeria would soon begin the full implementation of the new principle.
The OCDS enables disclosure of data and documents at all stages of the contracting process by defining a common data model.
President Buhari said that the Federal Government would apply the new system to major projects in the oil, transportation, power, health, education and other sectors.
A statement from Mr. Femi Adesina, the special adviser to the president on media and publicity stated that the publication of OCDS data would ensure greater transparency in public contracting, and can support accessible and in-depth analysis of the efficiency, effectiveness, fairness, and integrity of public contracting systems.
President Buhari also said that his administration was taking steps to ensure greater transparency of the ownership and control of all companies involved in property purchase and public contracting.
He said: "Nigeria is already collating this information through the Extractive Industry Initiative process and will extend it to other sectors.
"Nigeria will establish a transparent central register of foreign companies bidding on public contracts and buying property. We welcome the proposal by developed countries to work together to improve the access of developing countries to beneficial ownership information for use in public contracting".
Speaking on the initiative to limit the movement of corrupt people, president Buhari said that all hands needed to be on deck to realize the objective.
"We commit to joining the pilot initiative for automatic exchange of beneficial information. Nigeria commits to deploying public-private information sharing partnerships to bring together governments, law enforcement, regulators and the financial sector to detect, prevent and disrupt money laundering linked to corruption.
"We commit to work together to enhance company disclosure on the payments to governments for the sale of oil, gas and minerals, complementing ongoing work within the EITI.
"Nigeria is already reporting progress through the EITI working groups and will continue to work with interested countries to build a common understanding and strengthen the evidence for transparency in this area.
"We welcome voluntary disclosures through EITI reporting and by some major companies regarding payments to governments for the sale of oil, gas and minerals.
"We welcome the new 2016 EITI Standard, in particular the requirements on beneficial ownership and the sale of the government's share of production. We will sign up to the Common Reporting Standard initiative.
"We commit to reviewing penalties and other actions against professional enablers of tax evasion, including for corporations that fail to prevent their employees from facilitating tax evasion.
"We support the development of a global commitment for public country by country reporting on tax information for large multinational enterprises.
"We commit to the strengthening of our asset recovery legislation, including through non-conviction based confiscation powers and the introduction of unexplained wealth orders.
"In order to improve on the current legal procedures and ease asset recovery procedures, we have drafted the Proceeds of Crime Bill which provides for the transparent management of recovered funds and assets and a non-conviction based approach to asset recovery.
"We will work with others countries, civil society, international organisations to support accelerated implementation of the voluntary provisions of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and we commit to the implementation of the outstanding obligations under the UNCAC.
"We support the establishment of an International Anti-Corruption Coordination Center to be managed by National Crimes Agency of Britain. We will work with NCA in promoting this centre in the African region," the President said.
In a related development from the Summit, President Muhammadu Buhari also accused the international community of keeping silent for too long, allowing corruption to thrive.
He said that Nigeria was ready to join the world to combat illegal activities such as crude oil theft to which, he said, Nigeria loses about $7 Billion annually.
He also called on the community to urgently create anti-corruption infrastructure and a strategic action plan to facilitate the speedy recovery and repatriation of stolen funds hidden in secret bank accounts abroad.
"When it comes tackling corruption, the international community has unfortunately looked away for too long. We need to step up and tackle this evil together. That is why we have gathered here today.
"Corruption creates a system where resources are shared by a small elite while the majority wallows in poverty. Corruption also undermines the ability of countries to finance development.
"I recall in this regard, the landmark Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the 3rd International Conference on Finance for Development held in January this year.
"A prominent feature of that global framework is the recognition that good governance and measures to combat corruption and curb illicit financial flows will be integral to the effort to attain sustainable development globally by the year 2050.
"It is for this reason that my Government is determined to address illicit financial outflows which have served as a major impediment to progress in our country.
"I wish to reiterate our demand that the global community must come up with mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for stolen funds and facilitate the return of stolen assets to their countries of origin," President Buhari said.
Another statement by Mr. Adesina from London said that while giving his opening remarks at the summit, Prime Minister Cameron applauded President Buhari's vigorous efforts to curb corruption in Nigeria.
Other speakers at the opening session included the President of the World Bank, Dr. Jim Yong Kim and the United States Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry.
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