While in office, President Muhammadu Buhari claims that no one can extort him about his obscene wealth and illegal enrichment because “I do not have one square inch outside Nigeria.”
The president reaffirmed his commitment to serve God and Nigeria until the end of his term in office and beyond while speaking at a State banquet held in his honor on Monday night in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State.
“As I said more than 30 years ago, we have no other country than Nigeria. We must all stay here and salvage it together,” he said, urging Nigerians to maintain their patriotism.
The president expressed his happiness that normalcy has returned to the affected states in north-east Nigeria, noting that the potent and pervasive threat of terrorism was the most significant security challenge the administration took on nearly eight years ago.
He recalled that Yobe State was among the states most heavily attacked by terrorists, and that the threat was particularly pervasive throughout the North East geopolitical zone.
Therefore, he declared that he had upheld his promise to Nigerians in his May 29, 2015 inaugural speech to confront Boko Haram terrorists head-on and courageously stabilize the nation.
“God has helped us defeat Boko Haram in the North East, the economy has recovered, and some people are asking me about the results of my campaign against corruption,” I replied.
Well, it’s not easy to fight corruption under this system. Because the Constitution requires you to declare your assets, I had to lock up some people when I was in the military as Head of State because they were unable to explain how their assets differed.
Eventually, I was also imprisoned. Therefore, you must be ready for the worst if you want to serve this country. But one thing for which I am grateful to God is that I am not subject to blackmail. When I leave public service, I won’t leave Nigeria; I don’t own a single square inch there.
The president spoke about his path to becoming president and being re-elected.
“I traveled to every local government area in this country between 2003 and 2019.” When I ran for re-election in 2019, I traveled to every state, and the number of people who showed up to learn more about this Buhari is greater than anything that can be bought or forced.
I’m thankful that Nigerians understood me when I promised to serve both God and my countrymen.
President Buhari commended Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni for using the restoration of peace and security in the State to carry out projects that benefited the general populace.
The governor was praised by the president as being very capable and brave, and he said he was fortunate to have him serving as the State’s political leader and supporting federal efforts to destroy the Boko Haram terrorist group.
The president commended Nigeria’s neighbors for their assistance in the war against insurgency, noting that his first trip outside of Nigeria was to Niger and Chad in 2015 to recruit allies in the fight against the misguided sect.
President Buhari expressed appreciation to the Yobe State governor and residents, including Senate President Ahmad Lawan, for their cordial welcome during the State visit.
Governor Buni expressed his happiness at the President’s inauguration of significant state projects, such as the Yobe International Cargo Airport, the Damaturu ultra-modern market, the Maternal and Child Health Complex at the Yobe State University Teaching Hospital, the 2600 Housing Estate in Potiskum, and the Damaturu Mega School at new Bra-Bra.
He urged the president to accept the federal government’s takeover of the Yobe State International Cargo Airport and the reimbursement of the N38 billion the state government had already spent on the project.
He also asked for the State University Teaching Hospital’s Maternity and Child Health Complex to be taken over.
Usman Alkali, the IGP, thanked the president for opening the Tertiary Police Hospital, Police Secondary School, and State Command Headquarters during the State Visit. All three facilities were newly constructed, ultra-modern, and furnished.
The IGP gave the President and the people of Nigeria his assurance that the Nigeria Police would uphold the presidential directive and be completely ready for the upcoming general elections in 2023.
In accordance with the President’s directives and prior to their deployment for the General Elections, he revealed that recently graduated constables are being posted on field operations to their Local Government Areas.
In order to help with this, he said, “we have exposed our staff to specialized election security management trainings and developed Code of Conduct Handbook to guide the Police and other national security agencies that will be involved in the exercise.”
He continued by saying that the Force, in collaboration with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Military, the Intelligence Community, and other Sister Security Agencies, has also perfected the logistics and manpower mobilization framework and refined the Election Security Operational Action Plan.
The IGP thanked the President for his support in bringing in 10,000 police constables annually over a five-year period, noting that this has significantly closed the Force’s manpower gap and improved their overall ability to monitor the electoral process.
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
