President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday declared that his administration has made considerable progress in dealing with insecurity in Nigeria.
He also submitted that despite the dwindling resources available to the government based on the global price of oil, his administration has been able to achieve a lot.
The President, therefore, urged those documenting history to be factual and avoid personal bias against his administration.
Buhari made the submission on Thursday when he received some governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at his country home, Daura, Katsina State who paid him a Sallah homage.
Disclosing details of the discussions of the APC leaders, the senior special assistant to the President on media and publicity, Garba Shehu quoted Buhari as saying “the future of the country would be shaped by the diligence and honesty of those who document history and provide analysis of situations, knowing the value of what obtained in the past, and afterwards.
“It would be unfortunate to mislead electorate with lies, and personal bias, reiterating the need to put the larger interest of the country beyond other colorations.
“For the time remaining, and for those who have one more term in office based on the provision of the constitution, the elections are important to the parties. Intellectuals and historians should be fair to us so that those who are looking for leadership positions will not exploit the political ignorance or lack of knowledge of the people.’’
The President said his administration has done its best for the people even with limited resources and would continue to do more. He urged the governors to also deliver on their promises to the people.
“We have done our best and thank God for what we have been able to achieve with the available resources, otherwise we would have been in trouble,’’ he noted.
Adding that, “the security situation had improved compared to the instability in the North East before 2015, and the South South, where some parts of the north were directly under the control of terrorists, while the south was facing serious challenges.
“The subsequent development in the North West is the most amazing, where people who lived together, spoke same language and shared common faith started killing each other and rustling cows.
“I had to change the security chiefs and we had to get down to the fundamentals of providing security. If you look at the situation in relation to time and resources, you will find out what we have been able to achieve, ’’ the President noted.
He said oil prices fell from more than 100 dollars to less than 38 dollars under his administration, and the output that was 2.1 million barrels a day dropped to about 500,000 barrels, yet a lot was achieved.
In his remarks, the Governor of Kebbi State and Chairman of Progressive Governors Forum, Atiku Abubakar Bagudu, said the visionary and strong leadership provided for the APC by the President has continued to yield results as more politicians are joining the party every day.
He also attested to the agricultural revolution been carried out by the current administration as well as other infrastructural projects across the country.
“I drove from Kebbi State to Daura, and stopped to pick the Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, and realized that for the eight hours of coming here, we didn’t see more than 10km of land that was not cultivated.
“It goes to show that the efforts to improve security is also paying off. Farmers are taking advantage and planting. In six weeks, Your Excellency, you have commissioned projects in Lagos, Kano, Katsina and Borno States, and also launched some projects virtually.
“We appreciate the projects the federal government is doing in every state of the country and supporting governors, even those that are not so progressive,’’ he said.
“We are proud to have you as our leader. Your achievements and ideals are inculcated in all of us,’’ he added.
The 12 governors who attended the meeting with the President in Daura are: Prof Ben Ayade of Cross River, David Umahi of Ebonyi, Bello Matawalle of Zamfara, John Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, who is Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina, Solomon Lalong of Plateau and Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano.
Others are: Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger, Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun, Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi State, and Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State.
