President Muhammadu Buhari said on Friday in faraway New Delhi, India where he is attending India-Africa Summit that Nigeria is indeed broke and that his administration would cut down on the number of ministries to reduce costs.
According to the president, the situation of the country is evident on the fact that the country is struggling to pay workers salaries.
Buhari said downsize the ministries in the coming days so as to be able to pay salaries.
The president’s statement is coming a few days after the the Senate confirmed 37 ministerial nominees he sent by him.
But Buhari gave indications that some of the ministers would be with out portfolio, saying that since it is statutory for every state to be represented in the executive council some of them would just sit down and earn salries
Buhari spoke at a press conference after the summit, said he would want to be remembered as a Nigerian president who fought corruption to a standstill, assuring Nigerians, who are not involved in corruptly enriching themselves with public funds, not to be afraid.
He dismissed the accusation of selective prosecution of corrupt persons, saying that such charges do not border him. He said that the most important thing is for the accused to prove his innocence.
One of the main talking points at the one-day summit in New Delhi, was the provision India had made for African countries. The nation said it had set aside over $10 billion grant for African countries.
Wooing investors, President Buhari assured Indians and the international community of his administration’s commitment to sustaining efforts aimed at making Nigeria an envy of all. He urged them to avail themselves of the conducive environment that would be created for investments to thrive.
Responding to critics of his administration who claim he was too slow in addressing economic and infrastructural challenges facing the country that’s yearning for urgent development, Buhari said “they call me baba go slow, but I will go slow and steady”.
He called on the elite to encourage him to get whoever had compromised his position and the trust given to him. President Buhari told the gathering that he remained resolute in the fight against corruption and would want to be remembered for that when it is all said and done.
His administration has three main focus – security, economy and the fight against corruption. But he has roundly been criticised by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as being selective in the fight.
On whether there will be an extension of a three-month deadline given by his administration to flush out Boko Haram from Nigeria’s north-east, the President said that the target was to get rid of terrorism and not about meeting deadline.
