The Presidency will install plagiarism detection software in the computers of its speechwriters to prevent a recurrence of plagiarism in presidential speeches, sources in the State House disclosed.
President Muhammadu Buhari had in his “Change begins with me” speech this month lifted a paragraph from US President Barack Obama’s 2008 victory speech.
The Presidency had apologized for the incident – which it blamed on an overzealous aide – and said it wouldn’t happen again.
Sources said officials in the Presidency have now resolved to take a range of measures to guard against any further embarrassment.
“One of the measures will be to install plagiarism detection software to check speeches before they are delivered by the president,” an official involved in the plan said.
He said they all felt embarrassed by the plagiarism case, even though it was essentially the stupidity of one individual who didn’t envisage the gravity of his action.
When contacted over the planned installation of plagiarism detector, presidential spokesman Garba Shehu confirmed the plan.
He said the Presidency is determined to ensure that a case of plagiarism will never happen again.
