President Muhammdu Buhari yesterday urged Nigerian workers to dedicatethemselves to their duties abhorring the temptation of taking what belongs to the government.
Reading a riot act, he said anyone planning to make such a move had better learn from the experiences of those being prosecuted.
Speaking with Aso Rock Staff, on Wednesday at the forecourt of the Presidential Villa, Buhari said “We haven’t touched anybody who did not touch public funds, you should behave yourself.
“If you don’t have houses in Abuja and the whole of Europe, you will sleep soundly. You and your family will earn respect. But if you shortchange the treasury, you will be caught and I pity your family because people will be abusing them.
“People will be calling you big thieves that how did you raise money to build all the houses in Abuja and Europe with your meagre salary.
“I think personal integrity is something to be encouraged. I assure you that I am absolutely dedicated to serve Nigeria. Those who behave themselves will never regret, but those who don’t behave themselves, na their problem”.
This is the first time the President is meeting closely with members of staff of the Aso Rock. Most offices in the State House were shut as both senior and junior staff thronged in hundreds to meet with the President.
Speaking to a bewildered crowd who had obviously attended the meeting with other agenda in mind, Buhari told them all fraud must stop. If in doubt about the efficacy of his anti-corruption war they can ask those caught with public funds.
“This exercise will continue as long as this leadership is here. Whoever takes anything that does not belong to him or that he is not entitled to, it will be documented and the person will be taken to court. This is the only way I think we can bail ourselves out” the President said.
Reiterating his resolve to rehabilitate the country for the sake of the future generations, Buhari said it was a disgrace that 27 out of the 36 states cannot pay salaries despite all they have been getting over the years.
On the security challenge in the country the President noted that though the insecurity in the Northeast was abating it was unfortunate “that the other unstable part of the country, the Niger delta, with their myriads of organisations are competing over which one can do more damage to the country and the oil companies and oil wells. For how long are we going to do this? “.
He decried the state of the power sector which he said have made no remarkable improvement from 1999 till date, despite huge investments.
He added that though Nigeria has decided to return to the farm as an alternative to oil because of the prices, nothing much can be done this year.
“We have to quickly go back to the farm. It is too late for this year. But next year, we will make a better arrangement to make sure next year, we can feed ourselves”.
Elizabeth Archibong
