Former presidential spokesman, Laolu Akande, has said Nigeria needs bold leaders to confront and punish corrupt elements in the country.

Akande stated this during a ‘My Take’ segment of a programme aired on Channels Television on Friday.

He said, “The problems as of today, the widespread hardship in the land, and the menacing insecurities require courageous leadership at the very top. Our leaders must be bold enough to fire appointed public officials who don’t deliver on their Key Performance Indicators.

“We have seen in this country how lack of consequences and impunity have created new problems and made old ones worse. There have been claims of collusion of corruption in certain agencies our leaders should not be shy to thoroughly investigate, discover what is happening, and punish those responsible for the corruption and collusion if that is established.

“How is it possible that more than half of the oil lifted in Nigeria for instance is being stolen and no one has been caught or punished in several years? A President or a governor or elected senator or assembly member is no use, in the long run, if he or she fails to use the big stick against those holding our commonwealth down.

“Our leaders must be bold enough, honest, and forthright to draw a line in the sand on the issue of corruption. It requires boldness. Corruption is corrosive. A former President said if we don’t kill it, it will kill us.”

The former presidential aide further stated that President Bola Tinubu is carrying a heavier burden than the former president, Muhammadu Buhari.