In a new interview with the British Broadcasting Commission (BBC), Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari talks about his performance in office thus far, having spent 100 days as Nigeria’s chief executive since he took the oath of office on May 29, 2015.
Buhari states that “I think people are the judges,” choosing to leave the verdict about the effect of his leadership in the last three months, to the people.
He however mentions that residents of the north-eastern region have been able to see the impact of appointment of new service chiefs, the reorganisation of the military, equipping of the fighting forces as well as the secured cooperation of neighbouring countries – Niger, Chad and Cameroun – involved in a multinational joint task force to tackle terrorist group, Boko Haram.
“I think that with the time and resources available to us, the Nigerian military and law enforcement agencies have done well on our first task of securing the country,” Buhari said.
The president was asked about intelligence reports on the wherewithal of over 200 girls kidnapped by the terrorist group, Boko Haram from Chibok secondary school in Borno in April 2014. His response was:
“What we know is that they have kept them in different places so that they cannot be taken by surprise and get them released.”
Concerning his repeated promise to fight corruption since assuming office, Buhari responded to a question on whether a single penny had been recovered from anyone being investigated for corruption. The president said:
“We are beginning to realise some returns of funds which we said all monies should now go to the federal government account with the central bank. We can use those documents to subsequently prosecute those that participated, and because of the system in the western developed countries, people are all innocent until proven guilty and because of the interests of the financial institutions that are quite powerful, we have to very careful about it. I am very pleased with the reorganisation in the NNPC and we are getting a lot of results which we hope that in a couple of months, we can make clear disclosures and start the prosecution of those that have been stealing the crude.”
Conclusively, the president was asked if some of those being investigated and to be prosecuted include former officials and those who have companies pertaining to the oil industry. Buhari responded:
“Those who have been in charge of the NNPC at top level cannot claim ignorance of what has been happening for the last 10 years, and the companies, including shipping or tanker companies that allow themselves to be used to lift illegal crude from Nigeria, or to change on the high seas, or head for a different destination from which they are logged in Nigeria, they cannot deny their innocence.”
To watch the video:
