From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
THE Presidency has replied former governor Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano State, who alleged that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration was insensitive to the plight of Nigerians.
In a statement, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, described Shekarau ’s statement as incredibly amazing against the backdrop of the large scale stealing that took place under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the expense of the people’s welfare.
He said the PDP was the most insensitive with the large scale corruption recorded while they were in power.
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.
“The greatest insensitivity to the welfare of the people is epic corruption for which the PDP had a notorious and unrivalled record in our recent democratic history of bad governance.”
He added 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 the Presidential Media aide, Shekarau’s colleagues in the PDP government that he served “have been coughing out monies that they illegally stole while in office 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, Shehu said the Buhari administration has saved N1 trillion 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.
On the issue of insecurity, 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,” he 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.”