‘Police cannot investigate the army’ | 35 key quotes from Buhari’s Presidential Media Chat

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday evening, hosted his maiden Presidential Media Chat since assuming office on May 29, 2015.

The panel of interviewers were Kayode Akintemi (Channels TV), Ngozi Anyaegbulam (Media World International), Munir Dan Ali (Daily Trust) and Ibanga Isine (Premium Times).

The President was asked questions about issues bordering on challenges of insecurity, the economy, corruption, dearth of infrastructure, Boko Haram, education, the Biafra agitation and the recent Zaria massacre of Shiite Muslims.

Here are 35 key quotes:

  • War on corruption will take years, we are appealing to some countries to cooperate with us, Nigeria on its knees.
  • Treasury looters will eventually end up in the courts. We can’t do it on our own. We need the cooperation of countries where they took the money.
  • I don’t think I picked anybody (as Minister) that I know will embarrass my government.
  • We don’t have a credible intelligence to show that the Chibok girls are alive and in one place. That’s the truth.
  • If you find any of my 36 Ministers with a corruption case in court, name them so I can look into it.
  • I am allowing all the investigative bodies to do their job regarding the Shiite crisis. I have to wait for the official report before I can come out as head of government to make a statement (on the Zaria killings).
  • I saw some clips of excited youth hitting chests of army generals but we can’t justify the level of casualty.
  • Police can not investigate the army. There is no way I can ask the Police to investigate the Army. That will be a misnomer.
  • How can a group create a state within a state, It is unacceptable.
  • When I say the war has been technically won, I meant their capacity to carry out conventional attack has weakened.
  • 70% of Internally Displaced Persons are women, over 65% of the children are orphans not knowing where they come from. Pathetic!
  • The military is the last group that will take the break down of law and order lightly because they suffer the most.
  • Hijab would have to be banned if suicide bombing continues.
  • We have got 1.5 trillion naira into Central Bank so far through the Treasury Single Account.
  • We had just 9% for capital expenditure last year. People just sat down and shared money. We are in a bad shape.
  • We have banned the importation of toothpicks and goods we waste our foreign currency on.
  • Our priority is for welders, barbers, building our roads & railways, not rice & expensive textile wear.
  • Our priority is to empower people who are producing goods and employing people.
  • I will not support devaluation of the Naira. I need to be convinced that there is need for the country to devalue the Naira.
  • By the end of next quarter, you will not be talking of subsidy. The price is so low that there is no need to subsidize anything.
  • I turned down a N400 million car proposal for the presidency. I said the cars I have are good enough for 10 years.
  • I have to holding a closed-door meeting with the National Assembly regarding the cars they are trying to buy. I hope they haven’t bought them yet. They can’t buy cars for themselves and also take money in car loans.
  • We would employ youth, give them crash programme on Education and send them to teach at Primary schools.
  • Fashola was not made a super Minister for nothing.
  • China agreed to pay 70% of cost of railway projects between Lagos and Kaduna and Lagos and Calabar, but previous government failed to pay counterpart funding of 30%.
  • The process of government agencies earning monies and spending them and giving government change will have to stop. All government monies have to be paid to the Federation Account and a budget submitted for their operations.
  • Our parastatals would be realigned in view of the lesser number of Ministries we now have.
  • We are being economically stretched.
  • Foreign exchange will be made available to the productive sectors of the economy and not for luxury items.
  • The Minister of Finance and the Central Bank have to sit down immediately to look at ways to help students who are already outside the country to overcome the challenges posed by the foreign exchange limitation policy.
  • There are evidences of treasonable felony against Nnamdi Kanu.
  • Pro-Biafrans believe that they are marginalized but they have refused to state how and by who?

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