For the first time in his three years administration, President Muhammadu Buhari personally took on his major critic, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, saying there was more than meets the eye concerning the $16billion electricity project he spearheaded during his tenure.
According to Buhari, any discerning mind would be quick to ask the pertinent question of why Nigerians cannot enjoy efficient power supply if huge amounts were expended in the power sector for 16 years.
Recall that Obasanjo, who is currently behind the Third Force movement, had written the Presidency on the need for Buhari to jettison a second term in office owing to observed flaws in his administration.
Former Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida had followed suit claiming that Buhari had underperformed in office and had attributed it to old age.
IBB had also advised Buhari to leave the stage for young minds to lead the country on a more glorious path.
He said rather than attacking his government at any given opportunity, the citizens should also question the level of impunity that played out when the country was swimming in affluence owing to huge earnings from oil.
Not done, Buhari also took a swipe at the National Assembly, saying they feigned ignorance while the country was looted dry.
He described the entire actors that featured in the 16-year government under the opposition People Democratic Party, PDP, as people lacking love for the country.
The President said this when he received members of the Buhari Support Organisations (BSO) led by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali, at the Presidential Villa, on Tuesday.
‘‘Sometimes, I wonder about those who can afford to send their children abroad for studies and yet continue to sabotage the economy. I wonder what kind of Nigeria they want their children to return to and work in. There is a lot of lack of imagination.
“I think they lack imagination because if you’re fighting for the country then you shouldn’t be misappropriating or misapplying the fund the way people did.
“I have to repeat what I want the public to understand here. Some of you may not have heard it: either there is no power in your place or even to power your television. I said, and I challenge anybody to check from Europe, Asia and America.
“Between 1999 and 2014, Nigeria was getting 2.1million barrels per day with an average cost of $100 dollars per barrel. It went up to $143 per barrel. Nigeria was earning 2.1million multiplied by $100 dollars multiplied by 16 years, seven days a week.
“When we came, it collapsed to $37-38 and it was oscillating between $40 and $54 sometimes.
‘‘I went to the CBN Governor, with my cap in my hand, and asked if we had savings. He told me we had only debts, no savings,” Buhari stated.
Buhari, however, digressed a bit, saying he had no regrets working under late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha.
He noted that under the Abacha regime, much more projects that impacted the lives of Nigerians were executed.
“Some of the roads were not repaired since the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) days.
‘‘I don’t care the opinion you have about Abacha, I agreed to work with him and we constructed roads from Abuja to Port Harcourt, Benin to Onitsha and so on. We also touched education and health institutions.
‘‘One of the former Heads of State was bragging that he spent more than 15 billion USD on power in Nigeria. Where is the power?’’ the President said.
The President noted that under his watch, the 2016 and 2017 budgets recorded the highest appropriation and releases in capital projects, with over N2.8 trillion disbursements in two years.
The President urged Nigerians to reject those bent on dividing the country along religious and ethnic lines, warning that they do not mean well for the country.
‘‘I have said severally that we do not have any other country than Nigeria and we will remain here and salvage it together.
‘‘We have nothing to regret. Absolutely nothing. God has given Nigeria everything. We are rich in human and material resources. Let us keep on praying to God to put people of conscience in-charge at all levels,’’ he said.
On the activities of the support group, President Buhari apologised for not rallying them before announcing his intention to seek re-election in 2019 during a meeting of the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the All Progressives Congress on April 9, 2018.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and ensure that only ‘‘people of conscience are in charge of governance at all levels’’, as the nation prepares for general elections in 2019.
He thanked members of the group for their resolute support to him as a presidential candidate in 2015 and all through his term in office, adding that their voluntary sacrifices were an indication of their trust and belief in the great future of the country.
Ali, in a remark, said the group and majority of Nigerians are passionate about a second-term for President Buhari because of his integrity, honesty, love and patriotism.
He noted that President Buhari has entrenched fiscal discipline and prudent management of resources, improved the nation’s security and delivered on his promise to revamp agriculture, as a major revenue earner for the country.
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