President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his
government cannot afford to pay forty-two ministers and
that not all ministerial nominees screened by the Senate
will have portfolios.
The President also said that Nigeria has been ‘material
and morally vandalized’ and that he will reduce the
numbers of ministries.
Buhari in an
interview with
Channels TV and
Nigerian Television
Authority, NTA, in
New Delhi in India
said that he is
working with
people introduced
to him by others
that he trust and
must work with
them.
Buhari while reacting to a question on the divide in the
National Assembly over Rotimi Amaechi’s confirmation as
minister said he did not work into the presidency alone
hence he can not work alone and that some of those
having problems at the National Assembly he had never
met them.
‘This is team work, I said I know some people but there
are others, I accepted from other people that I trust
without even knowing them.’
‘May be those that are having problems in the National
Assembly I doubt if I have met them in my life but then, I
am working with others.’
‘I did not work into the presidency alone. I have to defend
all the three tiers of government from all parts of the
country.’
Backing his 36 Minister nominees Buhari said that he
cannot work out outside the constitution and that
ministers must be appointed in conformity with the
constitution of the Federal Government that stipulates
that ministerial appointment must reflect the 36 states of
the country.
And that these minister nominees though representing
their states some will not have portfolios but will be part
of his cabinet.
‘We can not work outside the constitution there must be a
cabinet representative from each state.’
‘There use to be forty two ministers but I think we can
barely keep 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 said
and we can’t operate outside the constitution’
‘We are reducing the number of ministries we can’t afford
to pay.’
‘Where is the money? Do you know the Federal
Government has to help twenty seven states out of thirty
six to pay salaries?.’
‘Nigeria can not pay salaries Nigeria had to summon the
Governor of the Central Bank to see how it could pay
salaries not to talk of projects, agreement signed with
foreign countries, counter funding and so on. The country
was material vandalized and morally so.’
On his ambition to see that the dreaded Boko Haram
group is crushed by December the president said that his
is optimistic on the capability of the military and other
government agencies in crushing the terrorists and as he
feels sorry for those who think otherwise or have given up
on winning the war against terrorist.
‘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.’
“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.’
Further more on how he feels when critics say he is being
selective in the fight against corruption Buhari said that
anyone who is not corrupt should not be afraid rather
they should encourage him to go headlong with the fight.
‘…if they are not involve in corruption they won’t mind
they would encourage us to get whoever compromised his
position in the trust being given on to him. I see it in the
papers, watch it on screen but I have never lost a sleep on
it because those that are not corrupt should even
encourage us to do more. But those that are interested in
the safety of those that have abused trust in the country
office will go to any length including bribing people to give
false information and so on.’
He went on to say that he is not being selective in his fight
against corruption and that any bdy caught will be
prosecuted for Nigerians to see.
‘Whoever is caught the document use in incriminating him
or her will be use to prosecute him for Nigerians to know
who has abused thrust’
On how he want to remembered the president said that ‘if
we survived it I want Nigerian to have found out that I was
genuine,a real patriot not that I only fought the Civil war
but fought corruption to a stand still’.
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