[T]he Presidency has forcefully rejected allegations by former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano State that the Buhari administration is insensitive to the plight of Nigerians.
Reacting to the allegation in Abuja on Friday, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Malam Garba Shehu, said the “audacity of Shekarau to preach about sensitivity is incredibly amazing, considering the large-scale stealing of public funds by the unseated PDP government at the expense of the welfare of the people.”
According to Shehu, the greatest insensitivity to the welfare of the people is epic corruption for which, he said, “the PDP had a notorious and unrivalled record in our recent democratic history of bad governance.”
The Presidential aide explained that the greed of PDP leaders “respects no boundaries of decency and rationality, so much that they could illegally steal any funds within their grip or reach, including monies meant for the security of Nigerians and the welfare of soldiers fighting terrorism in the Northeast.”
According to Shehu, Shekarau’s colleagues in the PDP government that he served have been coughing out monies that they illegally stole while in office, adding that “bringing misery to your fellow countrymen and women on account of your greed and thievery is the worst example of insensitivity.”
The statement said that the wellbeing of the citizens was at the heart of the President and for this reason, “the administration is seeking permanent solutions, not temporary ones to the county’s economic woes by first securing it, developing infrastructure and diversifying its economy. The several measures will bear fruition in a matter of time.”
On the current fuel scarcity, the Presidential Media Aide said the Buhari administration has saved one trillion naira on account of removing subsidy which was fraudulently making some cabals richer at the expense of the welfare of the people who were being short-changed.
He explained that the Buhari administration has significantly reduced the rate of corruption and frustrated people with corrupt and fraudulent tendencies, adding that those that benefitted from subsidy fraud are using their illegal gains to finance smear campaigns against the Buhari administration on the social media and other forums.
Addressing the issue of insecurity, Malam Garba Shehu said the Boko Haram terrorist group has been so “thoroughly militarily weakened that they no longer have the capabilities and staying power to confront our troops, or occupy any part of Nigerian territory without being decisively expelled.”
He recalled that markets and bus stations that were closed three years ago in the Northeast are now being reopened, thanks to the decisive restoration of relative peace in the area by “our now motivated and reinvigorated troops.”
“The Buhari administration is also proud to say that poor Nigerians that were once displaced by terrorist attacks are now returning to their liberated towns and villages, and this government won’t relent until it rids the country of the vestiges of terrorism”, Garba further stated.
He reminded Shekarau that the commitment of the Buhari administration to fighting corruption is firm and irrevocable, and that “every stolen kobo would be recovered and channeled into improving the welfare of Nigerians.”
