President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja said he had no regret being a man of integrity, adding that he was satisfied with his personality.
He added that both the people close to him and himself had not benefitted from government contracts since he came to power.
“I am satisfied with what I am. I am happy I have kept myself and people close to me from benefiting from government contracts,” the president was quoted as saying, while receiving a delegation of the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria in the State House.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement, stated that Buhari said he did not award contracts and did not care about who got them as long as they did a good job at a justifiable cost to the nation.
The president, according to the statement, also claimed that he had no regret being a man of integrity.
Buhari was quoted as saying, “I have been in many places including (Ministry of Petroleum). I would have gone to jail if I had taken an oil well. For integrity and honesty, I have no regrets. By this, I have contributed to my social safety. I won’t go to jail.”
The statement also said Buhari stated that even though he had been accused of many things, his critics could not accuse him of stealing.
He was further quoted: “You cannot accuse me of stealing,” adding that, “I have appointed ministers and they are in charge. I appeal to their integrity. When they come here (Federal Executive Council) Chambers, we ensure they follow the due process. If I owned an oil well, I would have gone to jail.”
The statement added that Buhari also responded to a number of issues raised by the delegation, including complaints that Muslims had been marginalised in appointments in government institutions such as the military and the civil service.
According to the statement, the president said such insinuation illustrated how difficult his job had been because he had equally been accused of same by adherents of other faiths. “I am in a difficult situation,” he added.
On raging violence in some parts of country, Buhari said he was trying in his best, adding that following his dissatisfaction with the performance of the police in Zamfara State, he had ordered a massive transfer of officers who have been there for three years and above.
Shehu added that Buhari appealed to religious leaders to instruct their followers on the importance of possessing their own voters’ cards, which he described as a “national entitlement,” and to preach justice to all, which he described as the pillar of lslam.
The statement added: “President Buhari, who revealed that he had received a “p’stiff bill’ from the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, for the restoration of the dilapidated infrastructure and facilities of federal government-owned radio stations in all states of the federation, promised that something would be done.
“Speaking on behalf of the delegation, the Vice-President, Sheikh Hadiyyatullahi Abdulrashid commended President Buhari for accomplishing much of what he promised before his election. He likened him to the captain of a capsizing ship and the messiah needed by the country.
“Sheikh Abdulrashid also spoke about the alleged marginalisation of Muslims, violent conflicts between farmers and herders, the problems of drug abuse among youths and the fate of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) Kaduna, among other issues.”
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