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| President Buhari addressing State House staff |
President
Muhammadu Buhari yesterday described as disgraceful that two-thirds
of state governments can’t pay workers’ salaries.
The Nation report
continues:
He also vowed to leave no
stone unturned to rid Nigeria of fraud and corruption.
The President told State
House workers who gathered at the forecourt of the Presidential Villa to
welcome him back from his vacation; that those who take whatever does not belong
to them will be made to face prosecution.
He said: “27 out of the
36 states cannot pay salaries. This is a disgrace to Nigeria. It is a disgrace
up till now that most of the states cannot pay salaries. What happened to all
we have gotten over the years? We look up and down, left, right and centre,
what have we saved? There was nothing because we developed a consumption
culture that we were not supposed to develop. Most of your colleagues that have
left service, I doubt if they are getting benefits. That is the situation we
find ourselves in.”
Noting that the military
had made remarkable improvement against insurgency in the northeast, he
observed that militants in the Niger Delta are bent on destroying oil
installations.
He said: “Unfortunately,
the other unstable part of the country, the Niger Delta, with their myriads of
organizations that are competing over which one can do more damage to the
country and the oil companies and oil wells. For how long are we going to do
this?”
He said “all fraud must
stop. If they don’t believe us, they should go try and see those we caught
red-handed with public funds. This will continue as long as this leadership is
here.
“Whoever takes anything
that does not belong to him or that he is not entitled to, it will be documented
and the person will be taken to court. This is the only way I think we can bail
ourselves out.
“I am asking you to
dedicate yourselves more to your country because I said more than 30 years ago,
that there is no other country we can call our home, but Nigeria.” He said
“We are determined to
rehabilitate our country for the sake of our children and our grandchildren. I
have never in my life from class monitor to this place, twice in different
forms, believed in corruption.
“But we won’t touch
anybody who did not touch public funds, you should behave yourself. If you
don’t have houses in Abuja and the whole of Europe, you will sleep soundly. You
and your family will earn respect. But if you shortchange the treasury, you
will be caught and I pity your family because people will be abusing them.
“People will be calling
you big thieves that how did you raise money to build all the houses in Abuja
and Europe with your meagre salary. I think personal integrity is something to
be encouraged. I assure you that I am absolutely dedicated to serving Nigeria.
Those who behave themselves will never regret,” he added.
He noted that one of the
greatest challenges his administration is facing is not meeting any savings
despite the huge income from sale of oil before it crashed to as low as US$30
per barrel.
Speaking on the power
situation, he said there has been virtually no improvement in the sector since
1999 despite the billions of naira spent. “Look at power, how much did we spend
on power? From barbers to factories, shops, we all depend on power. There is
virtually no improvement from 1999 till now no matter how many billions they
have spent.”
According to him, the
immediate alternative to revamp the economy is to embrace agriculture and the
solid minerals sectors.
On his vacation, he said:
“I thank you for welcoming me back from my health break. You are the judges,
perhaps I look healthier than I left or I came back worse.”
Permanent Secretary
(State House), Jalal Arabi: said: “We are here to welcome you back from your well-deserved
vacation.
He prayed for good
health, God’s guidance and wisdom to continue to lead the nation.
Buhari
Vows To End Fraud, Corruption In Nigeria
 |
| President Buhari addressing State House staff |
The Nation reports that President
Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday vowed to leave no stone unturned to rid
Nigeria of fraud and corruption.
He made the remark while
addressing State House staff that gathered at the forecourt of the Presidential
Villa to formally welcome him back from his medical vacation.
According to him, those
that take whatever does not belong to them will be made to face prosecution.
He said: “All fraud must
stop. If they don’t believe us, they should go try and see those we caught red
handed with public funds. This exercise will continue as long as this
leadership is here.
“Whoever takes anything
that does not belong to him or that he is not entitled to, it will be
documented and the person will be taken to court. This is the only way I think
we can bail ourselves out.
“I am asking you to
dedicate yourselves more to your country because I said more than 30 years ago,
that there is no other country we can call our home, but Nigeria,” he said.
He added: “We are
determined to rehabilitate our country for the sake of our children and our
grandchildren. I have never in my life from class monitor to this place, twice
in different forms, believed in corruption.
“But we don’t touch
anybody who did not touch public funds, you should behave yourself. If you
don’t have houses in Abuja and the whole of Europe, you will sleep soundly. You
and your family will earn respect. But if you shortchange the treasury, you
will be caught and I pity your family because people will be abusing them.
“People will be calling
you big thieves that how did you raise money to build all the houses in Abuja
and Europe with your meager salary? I think personal integrity is something to
be encouraged. I assure you that I am absolutely dedicated to serve Nigeria.
Those who behave themselves will never regret, but those who don’t behave
themselves, will have problem,” he added.
He noted that one of the
greatest challenges his administration is facing is not meeting any savings on
ground despite the huge income from sales of oil which crashed as low as US$30
per barrel since 2014.
Picking on power, he said
that there was virtually no improvement in the sector since 1999 despite the
billions of Naira spent.
The President also said
that it was shameful that most states in the country can’t pay workers’
salaries.
He said: “27 out of the 36
states couldn’t pay salaries. This is a disgrace to Nigeria. It is a disgrace
up till now most of the states cannot pay salaries. What happened to all we
have gotten over the years? We look up and down, left, right and centre, what
have we saved? There was nothing because we developed a consumption culture
that we were not supposed to develop. Most of your colleagues that have left
service, I doubt if they are getting benefits. That is the situation we find
ourselves in.”
Noting that the army has
made remarkable improvement against insurgency in the northeast part of the
country, he observed that militants in the Niger Delta are competing on
destroying oil installations.
He said: “Unfortunately,
the other unstable part of the country, the Niger Delta, with their myriads of
organizations that are competing over which one can do more damage to the
country and the oil companies and oil wells. For how long are we going to do
this?”
Stressing that it is not
easy to preach change to the people for what they are used to since 1999, he
however said that there is no going back on the change agenda of the
administration.
He said: “The change must
take place because as I said, when we were used to getting $100 par barrel…
this reflects on the economic predicament the country finds itself. This has
affected the morale and integrity of a lot of people who bother to ask what is
happening to their country.
“The fact that you work
here, no matter what level, people expects you to know and they expect you to
discuss with them intelligently and show your concern for your country and what
we are going to leave for our children and grandchildren. Let’s not lose the
opportunity for the future so that we can build infrastructure.”
On the power sector, he
said: “Look at power, how much did we spend on power? from barbers to
factories, shops, we all depend on power. There is virtually no improvement
from 1999 till now no matter how many billions they have spent.
According to him, the
immediate alternative to revamp the economy is to embrace agriculture and the
solid minerals sectors.
He said: “That was why we
voted a lot of money for agriculture so that we can at least feed ourselves.
And once we can feed ourselves, we can say okay let the struggle continue. At a
least we can eat two to three meals par day.
“We have to quickly go
back to the farm. It is too late for this year. But next year, we will make a
better arrangement to make sure next year, we can feed ourselves.” He said
Changes aimed at reducing
costs of governance, he said, included pruning down of the number of ministries
from 42 to 24.
On his medical vacation,
he said: “I thank you for welcoming me back from my health break. You are the
judges, perhaps I look healthier than I left or I came worse.”
Speaking earlier on
behalf of the staff, the Permanent Secretary of the State House, Jalal Arabi,
said: “We are here to welcome you back from your well-deserved vacation.
He reassured the
President of the staff’ commitment and loyalty to his core value of integrity,
transparency, accountability and fear of God.
The Permanent Secretary
also promised that the staff will continue to do their best on what is expected
of them.
He also prayed for good health, God’s guidance and wisdom to continue to lead the nation.
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