In response to the perceived lop-sidedness of his appointments made so far which seem to favour a section of the country, President Muhammadu Buhari has revealed why he appointed Babachir David Lawal as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation; Abba Kyari as his Chief of Staff and Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd.) as the Comptroller-General, Nigerian Customs Service.
According to Buhari while speaking to Hausa Service of the BBC, he appointed them because they suffered in the struggle and really worked for the party, adding that , “ There is no offence choosing them and beyond that, they were people of integrity and sincerity”.
On the issue of Chibok girls, when asked whether they were in one particular location or divided into different groups and locations, Buhari said, “They are camped in one place. They were separated, and concerted efforts are being put in place with the neighbouring countries to ensure that the abducted Chibok girls are rescued and reunited with their families.”
On the fight against insurgency, he said, “The Nigerian military are about to eliminate the Boko Haram, because we appointed professionals to take the cause and we have equipped our men on frontline with sophisticated weapons.”
Asked on how to tackle suicide bombing in towns if the military is able to crush insurgents in their camps and bushy areas, the president said,” We will tackle the problem. We will work in conjunction with wards and district heads of various towns and villages, who could easily identify new faces and this will go a long way in tackling suicide bombing.”
On the fight against corruption, Buhari revealed that, “The NNPC is the most corrupt area in Nigeria, where individuals were found operating the corporation as their personal property. They transport crude oil from Nigeria to other parts of the world; that must be stopped. We have the details of the oil thefts and as soon as investigation is done, they would be brought to book.”