Buhari: Only God Will Punish Abusers of Public Trust

By Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja

 President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja invoked divine wrath on individuals and past governments which he accused of abusing public trust, saying only God would appropriately punish them.

The president made the remarks while receiving members of Buhari Support Organisations (BSO) at home and in the Diaspora in the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa.

He restated claims that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governed the country for 16 years, when Nigeria was producing 2.1 million barrels of oil per day, with the price of oil going as high as $143 per barrel and more or less nothing to show for it while the price fell drastically when he assumed office.

The president also claimed that when he assumed office, there were no roads and rail lines had gone comatose adding that the PDP government allegedly spent $16 billion on power without any improvement on power supply.

He also accused the former government of abusing trust, stressing that only God could mete the appropriate punishment to those who abuse public trust.

However, he said his government in its own way would charge those it could lay its hand upon to the court and accordingly prosecute them.

“I have said this for the umpteenth time and I have challenged them to prove me wrong but in those 16 years of PDP ruled, Nigeria was getting 2.1 million times 100 (2.1 million barrels by $100 per barrel) every day, every week, but when we came on board, the price fell to between $37-38 and was oscillating around $40-$50.

“I went to the Central Bank of Nigeria, and asked him for money and he said there is no money.

“Large scale abuse of trust, only God can give them punishment but those we can touch, we will get them prosecuted. We have said properties confiscated should be sold and the money put into treasury and we will use,” he said.

 He said he had maintained his own principle of accountability and would have been in trouble if he had deviated from it.

“If I didn’t stick to my principle of accountability I would have been in trouble by now and I have no regrets. Everybody wants to be comfortable but the most important thing is to live within your means and bear the consequence,” he said.

Earlier, the Chairman of BSO, Mahmood Mohammed, described Buhari as the custodian of peoples’ treasury, saying he was sure that the president would not touch even a dime of public funds.

Mohammed who argued that Buhari had something in stock for Nigeria, chronicled what he described as Buhari’s achievements on food security, education, power and other infrastructure provision.