President Muhammadu Buhari,
Friday, stated that his vision and objectives for Nigeria are very clear and he
is on course to achieving them.
Speaking when he received
members of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), led by its President,
Reverend Samson Ayokunle in State House, Abuja, President Buhari said he was
doing his best to fulfil his electoral promises of securing the country,
fighting corruption and resuscitating the economy.
President Buhari said that
fighting corruption takes longer time especially with the need to adhere to the
rule of law.
“It is on record that some
cases initiated by the anti-graft bodies since 2003 are yet to be concluded. We
will, however, not be discouraged. Where monies have been recovered, such
monies will not find their way back to the looters as I have directed EFCC to
account for every money it has recovered and put them in a dedicated account,”
President Buhari said.
Responding to the request
of CAN for an overhaul of the intelligence gathering system , President Buhari
said the burden of intelligence gathering involves everyone especially district
heads , traditional rulers, opinion leaders and especially religious leaders that
are very close to the grassroots. He added that bandits who are operating in
various communities live among the people and enjoined leaders of thought in
various communities to avail security agencies of information about the
criminals.
President Buhari also told
the visitors that he had assurances from the Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, that the 2019 elections will be free and fair as he has been
victim of fraudulent elections and beneficiary of free and fair election in the
past.
“When I decided to put on
this Agbada to see what the people are seeing in it, I tried three times, 2003,
2007 and 2011, but the fourth time, in 2015, I succeeded. We thank God and
technology in the form of permanent voters card and card reader, because what
they used to do was to look at constituencies, award the votes and then they
will say whoever didn’t agree should go to court. When people are looking for
what to eat, where do they have the money to go to court to pay the SANs?”
President Buhari said.
On farmers and herders
clashes, President Buhari told the visitors that government was working towards
finding a lasting solution to it.
The CAN delegation had
lauded the President for his efforts in fighting corruption, the initiatives to
stem the tide of unemployment, the various efforts aimed at revamping the
economy, the fight against Boko Haram terrorists and the implementation of the
Bank Verification Number and the Treasury Single Account.
They, however, called on
the President, to, ensure that the security agencies are non-partisan as we
head to 2019 elections; restore peace to troubled spots in Northern parts of
the country especially in the Garshish District of Plateau State, and institute
a judicial panel of enquiry to look into the killings in the North Central
particularly the murder of Major General Idris Alkali (rtd) and the Royal
Highness of the Adara Kingdom in Kaduna, Dr Maiwada Raphael Galadima.
They also called on the
President to; ensure that Nigeria does not go back into recession; urgently
resolve the issue of minimum wage and to task the security agencies to ensure
the release of Miss Leah Sharibu and other Chibok girls still in captivity.
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the
President
(Media & Publicity)
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