President Buhari to name looters on May 29

In an interview in London yesterday before he
returned to Abuja, President Buhari said that the
names of corrupt Nigerians will be made public in a
speech he intends to deliver on May 29 and that
those named will be prosecuted. He also said he
was coming after people bombing and destroying
pipelines in the Niger Delta;

“So far, what has come out, what has been
recovered in whatever currency from each
ministries, departments and individuals, I intend on
the 29th to speak on this because all Nigerians are
getting from the mass media because of the
number of people arrested either by the EFCC,
DSS. But we want to make a comprehensive
report on the 29th.
On whether the names of those indicted will be published,
he said:
“Yes, eventually, it has to be done because we
want to successfully prosecute them. But you
know you cannot go to the courts unless you have
documents for prosecution.
“People signed for these monies into their
personal accounts, their banks gave statements
that the money is there, when it came, how much
and so on.”
Also speaking on allegation of selective prosecution,
Buhari said:
“That is an accusation against the law
enforcement agencies. But I assure you that we
do not interfere. Try and get those who are now
under arrest, you will find out it is across the
board.”
On Militants...
"What I know is that I was elected by the whole
country and the least I can do is to keep the
country together somehow. I assure you we will
develop the capacity to do it. If you can recall, the
militants, I appointed a retired Brigadier General
(Boroh). When I give people assignment, I develop
terms of reference for them and I allow them to do
their work. I understand the problem. I spoke with
the Chief of Naval Staff and other service chiefs to
work with him and help him to make sure that
those who are blowing the installations, sabotaging
investments in Nigeria, we will deal with them
eventually.”
On the killer herdsmen, Buhari said they are non-
Nigerians who came into Nigeria from Libya.
"because of what happened in Libya, when
Ghadaffi, during his 43 year-regime, trained some
people from the Sahel militarily. When his regime
was overthrown, those people were dispatched to
their countries. They found themselves in the
Boko Haram and others.
“It is a major regional and virtually African problem
now. There is one called Al Qaeda, there is Boko
Haram and so on. It is a governmental project now
to trace them, disarm them, try them and
discipline them.”
He said the Fulani herdsmen “culturally do not stay
in one place; they move with the season.
“Normally, harvest is complete much earlier in the
North. They have to go southwards for greener
pasture.
“Initially, there was what they call cattle routes
and grazing areas. They were marked.
Infrastructures were put in terms of dams and
veterinary clinics.
“Later, the big ogas that came, took over these
places and turned them to farms. If we have like
500 cattle, if they do not eat for 24 hours or they
want water, you can’t stop them.
“But what they used to do then, if anybody goes
outside, he would be arrested, taken before a
court and he is fined. If he can pay, the money is
taken and given to the farmer. If he can’t pay, the
cattle is sold and the farmer is paid. So, people
are behaving well.
“So, when people came and took away the land for
the cattle route and grazing area, you find out that
from Kaduna to Bayelsa, Nigerians are fighting
cattle rearers now.
“When I was in PTF, we made a comprehensive
study of cattle routes and grazing areas
throughout Nigeria. So, I am referring the
Governors’ Forum to it and the Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Development. Let them see
what they can do and save the situation.”
On 2016 Budget implementation, he said:
“It depends on the efficiency of the technocrats.
Yes, we have six months to implement the budget.
You know why there was a delay. There is
something called padding. I have been in
government since 1975. I was governor of what is
now six states: Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe,
Adamawa, Taraba, that used to be North East.
Then I was in Obasanjo’s cabinet, Petroleum for
three and a quarter years. I was Head of State for
20 months.
“I had never heard about that one padding until this
year. And what does it mean? It means that the
technocrats just allowed the government to make
its noise, to go and make the presentation to the
National Assembly. They will remove it and put in
their own.
“When we uncovered this, we just had to go back
to the basics again. Ministers had to go again and
appear before the Minister of Budget and National
Planning and make presentations again. This was
clearly brought out by the Minister of Health.
“I saw with my own eyes, nobody told me. I was
watching NTA and he appeared before a
committee that said the minister should come and
defend his budget. He looked at what was
presented to him as his budget and he said he had
nothing to defend, that that was not what he
presented.
“Subsequently, we discovered that it was not only
the ministry of health. So they allowed us to talk
rubbish as government and they do what they
like.”
Source: The Nation