Nigeria's former military ruler Tuesday appealed to Liberians to do everything in their power to end corruption, and said preparations for democratic elections in October appeared to be on course, dpa reported. Former army General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who now serves as mediator in the Liberian crisis for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), spoke at the end of a six-day visit to Monrovia. "The recurring complaint of corruption needs to be addressed to boost the confidence of the international community whose support is critical to Liberia's process of restoration," Abubakar said. Two years after former Liberian strongman leader Charles Taylor was ousted under a concerted effort of ECOWAS and the international community, the country is preparing for parliamentary elections. A power-sharing government headed by Charles Gyude is currently in charge. Taylor has been charged with 17 courts of war crimes for his support of rebels who committed grave atrocities in Sierra Leone during the long civil war that ended in mid-1990s. He is in exile in Nigeria, which has refused to hand him over to the court. Abubakar said that a check on Liberian corruption could improve the country's attractiveness for foreign donors.
