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President
Muhammadu Buhari
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President Muhammadu
Buhari on Friday gave an insight into the shape his cabinet would take, saying
the country would be lucky if his administration is able to have half the
number (21) of the 42 ministers that operated under the last administration. He said he only sent
names of 36 ministerial nominees to the Senate for confirmation because the
constitution stipulates that each state of the federation must have
representatives in his cabinet.
He
said not all the 36 nominees would be ministers as some of them would only sit
in the cabinet in order to meet that constitutional provision.
Buhari
disclosed this in an interview he granted the Nigerian Television Authority and
Channels TV shortly before he left New Delhi where he participated in the third
summit of the India-Africa Forum.
The Punch report continues:
The
President was asked whether his reduction of the number of ministers from 42 as
it was under former President Goodluck Jonathan to 36 would result into the
reduction of the number of Ministries, Departments and Agencies and eventual
purging of the civil service.
Buhari
said, “There was no reduction (of ministers) to 36. What the constitution says,
and we cannot work outside the constitution, is that there must be a cabinet
representative from each state.
“Yes,
there used to be 42 ministers, I think we will be lucky if we can have half of
that now because we cannot afford it.
“Others
may not be substantive ministers but they will sit in the cabinet because that
is what the constitution says and we cannot operate outside the constitution.”
When
asked specifically whether he will reduce the number of ministers, Buhari said,
“Of course! Unless you can volunteer to be paying them (ministers).”
When
asked the criteria used in compiling his ministerial nominees, the President
explained that his three previous attempts at the Presidency afforded him the
opportunity of knowing many Nigerians.
He
said that experience afforded him the opportunity of knowing those who fell by
the wayside when the journey became tough and those who soldiered on.
“I
have just talked about Nigerians, especially the elite, sitting and reflecting
on serious national issues.
“How
many times did I attempt to be the President of Nigeria? How many times did I
end up in the Supreme Court? Does is it mean every time, I don’t know people in
this country?
“I
know people who we were going together but fell by the wayside because it was
too tough. You know I contested in 2003, 2007, 2011. I think Nigerians should
stop taking things for granted as far as we are concerned,” he said.
When
confronted with the fact that one of his nominees caused division among
senators elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress and the
Peoples Democratic Party, the President said the nominee must be one of those
suggested to him.
“This
is a team work. I said I know people but there are people (nominees) that I
accepted from other people in our team that I trust without even knowing them.
“Maybe
the one that has problem in the National Assembly, I doubt if I have ever met
him in my life.
“But
then, I am working with others. I did not walk into the Presidency alone. I
have to depend on all the other three tiers of government from all parts of the
country.
“We
thank God and technology that this time around, we are able to make it,” the
President said.
When
the President was asked to react to the claim that his administration is slow
in the development of infrastructure, Buhari wondered where the government
would get the money from.
He
said he inherited a country that was vandalized materially and morally.
He
said it got to a stage that the government could not afford to pay salaries.
The
President recalled that the situation degenerated to a level that the Federal
Government had to help 27 of the 36 states to pay salaries.
Buhari
said, “Where is the money? You must have known that the Federal Government had
to help 27 of the 36 states to pay salaries.
“Nigeria
cannot pay salaries. The Federal Government itself had to summon the governor
of the Central Bank to see how it would pay salaries not to talk of the
agreements we signed with foreign countries, counterpart funding and so on.
“This
country was materially vandalized and morally so and you are in a position to
know even more than myself unless you are testing my knowledge whether I know
it or not.”
When
asked to be categorical on whether the country is broke, Buhari replied, “Of
course, Nigeria is broke.”
The
President denied allegation that his administration had been selective in its
anti-corruption war.
He
said he had not lost sleep on the allegation because those indicted would be
confronted with documents that incriminated them.
Buhari
identified unnamed prominent Nigerians as those constituting stumbling blocks
to the anti-graft war, saying their target is to discourage the government from
going ahead with the war.
He
said, “I cannot tell you offhand how much we have recovered (in looted funds)
but those who said we have been selective, if they have not been involved in
corruption, they would not mind; they will even encourage us to get whoever has
compromised his position in the trust given to them.
“So,
I see it in the papers, I watch it on the screen but I have never lost sleep
over it because those who are not corrupt should only encourage us to even do
more.
“But
those who are interested, those who have abused the trust will go to any length
including bribing people to give false information.
“I
have not been selective. Whoever is caught, the documents that incriminate him
or her will be used to prosecute him (or her) for Nigerians to know really who
has abused trust.
“The
stumbling blocks are big, corrupt Nigerians that have the capacity to
compromise the integrity of a lot of people, either the law enforcement
agencies or journalists to make sure that they discourage the government from
pursuing them and recovering public funds from them or punishing them. Those
who aspire to public office, we will make sure what they are going to get is
service and not looting.”
On
the timeline given the Nigerian military to end insurgency, Buhari said he
remained optimistic that the feat could be achieved.
He
said it should be a source of worry to Nigerians that before now, Nigerian
military and other law enforcement agencies were getting accolades across the
world when they could not secure 14 of the nation’s 774 local government areas
before a change in government.
“The
main objective is to get rid of Boko Haram whether it is within the time limit
we gave to the military or outside of it, we remain focused in our objective
and we will support them.
“Government
will support the military and other law enforcement agencies to make sure that
Boko Haram is removed from Nigeria and from our neighbours in the Lake Chad
Basin Commission countries.
“I
am an optimistic person. I am sorry for those who have already given up. I
remain confident that our military and other law enforcement agencies are more
than equal to the task.
“Don’t
forget that I made an earlier statement to the effect that the Nigerian
military and police earned accolades all over the world: Liberia, Sierra Leone,
Sudan, etc.
“They
earned international respect and then here you are, the Nigerian military and
other law enforcement agencies could not secure 14 local governments out of 774
until the government was changed.
“I
think Nigerians should sit and reflect about what they should get worried about
and about how to support the administration,” he added.
Responding
to a question on whether it is true that some looters have started returning
their loot secretly to government coffers, Buhari said, “I do not want to let
the cat out of the bag now.”
When
told that his name sends shivers down the spines of some Nigerians, Buhari said
he did not want to be feared but be respected.
“I
don’t want to believe you. I will like to believe you if you say Nigerians
respect me but I don’t want to be feared, I want to be respected,” the
President said.
Buhari
said he would like to be remembered as a leader who did not only fight the
civil war, but one that also fought corruption to a standstill.
“If
we survive it, I want to be remembered that Nigerians have found out that I was
genuine; I was a real patriot, not that I only fought the civil war but that I
fought corruption to a standstill,” he said.
He
described a grant promised Nigeria by India during his visit as a great relief.
He
said, “It is a major relief. It will solve our unemployment problems and if
goods and services are produced, our foreign exchange will not suffer so much.
All that the Indian companies will be asking for is the repatriation of their
profit which is part of the agreement and then some essential raw materials
which are not available in Nigeria.
“I think the benefit is
very clear.”
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