President Muhammadu Buhari has said he has fulfilled the commitment made to Nigerians in his May 29, 2015, inaugural address to frontally and courageously tackle Boko Haram terrorists and stabilise the country.
The president stated this while speaking at a state banquet organised in his honour in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, on Monday night by Governor Mai Mala Buni.
Buhari, who noted that the most critical security challenge inherited by the administration nearly eight years ago was the potent and pervasive threat of terrorism, expressed delight that normalcy had returned to affected states in the North East.
The president, in a statement issued on Tuesday by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, recalled that the threat was particularly pervasive across the North East geopolitical zone with Yobe State being one of the most hit by the terrorists.
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He said: “In the North East, God has helped us to clear Boko Haram, the economy has picked up, and some people are asking me about the achievements of my promise to fight corruption.
“Well, under this system, fighting corruption is not easy. When I was in the military, as Head of State, I locked up some people because the constitution says you must declare your assets, and for people who couldn’t explain the differences in their assets, I locked them up.
“In the end, I was also locked up. So, if you want to serve this country, you must be prepared for the worst.”
In his remarks, Buni appealed to the president to approve the takeover of the Yobe State International Cargo Airport by the federal government and the refund of N38 billion expended by the state government on the project.
He also requested the takeover of the state university teaching hospital, including the Maternity and Child Health Complex at the Yobe State University Teaching Hospital.
Also speaking yesterday at the at the APC presidential campaign rally at August 27 Stadium in Damaturu, the president said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) led government was more than ever before energised to defeat whoever threatened the unity of Nigeria
Buhari, who addressed the mammoth crowd in Hausa language, stressed the need for education in countering the despicable ideology of Boko Haram.
He urged parents and guardians in Yobe to “Make sure you send your children to school and make them understand that whatever you have in this world can be taken away from you except the knowledge you have in your head.”
“I was an orphan; I did not know my father. I spent nine years in a boarding school and because of education, I was enlisted into the Nigerian Army.
“I want you to strengthen your faith, try your best to uphold the children and family God has entrusted to you. Do not betray that trust.”
Buhari urged voters in Yobe State and the North East in general to ensure that his party’s presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was elected in the forthcoming general elections.
The president said a vote for Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, would guarantee the sustenance of progress made in the security, economy and education sectors of the country.
In his remarks, Tinubu urged Nigerians to reject the lies peddled by the opposition parties against the Buhari-led administration.
“This government is a government of progress, integrity and honesty,” he said.
The APC presidential candidate promised that his government would turn the region into the Agro-allied processing Centre of Nigeria.
“We will give you good jobs that you can depend on. Agriculture will come back. Hunger will go away. We will give you what is necessary, consumer credit to build houses and roofs over your heads,” he said.
Tinubu also promised to make the perennial ASUU strikes history, adding that undergraduates will not need to spend extra years in the university beyond the standard duration of course of study.
Senate President Ahmed Lawan promised that APC would win every contestable seat in Yobe State because President Buhari had done wonderfully well in the seven and half years he has been in office.
He accused PDP of destroying Nigeria during its 16 years in power, saying “they should be ashamed of themselves and have no right to go around Nigeria seeking for votes.”
By Muideen Olaniyi (Abuja) & Habibu Idris Gimba (Damaturu)
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