By Olamilekan FAWAS
President Muhammadu Buhari said he has no regrets being a person of honesty and integrity, saying that even his staunch critics cannot accuse him of stealing.
The President stated this when he received a delegation of the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria at the State House, Abuja, on Monday.
He said: “I am satisfied with what I am. I am happy I have kept myself and people close to me from benefiting from government contracts.
“I have been in many places including (Ministry of Petroleum. I would have gone to jail if I had taken an oil well.
“For integrity and honesty, I have no regrets. By this, I have contributed to my social safety. I won’t go to jail.’’
President Buhari added that he did not award contracts and did not care about who got them so long as they did a good job at a cost that is justifiable to the nation.
The President, who said he had been accused of many things, said his critics cannot accuse him of stealing. “You cannot accuse me of stealing.
“I have appointed ministers and they are in charge. I appeal to their integrity. When they come here (Federal Executive Council) Chambers, we ensure they follow the due process. If I owned an oil well, I would have gone to jail,’’ he said.
President Buhari also responded to a number of issues raised by the delegation, including complaints that Muslims had been marginalised in appointments to government institutions such as the military and the civil service.
According to him, this illustrated how difficult his job is because he faced the same criticism from adherents of other faiths. “I am in a difficult situation,” he admitted.
The President appealed to the religious leaders to instruct their followers on the importance of possessing their own voters’ cards which he described as a “national entitlement”.
He urged them to preach justice to all which he said is an instituted pillar of Islam.
Speaking on behalf of the delegation, the Vice-President, Sheikh Hadiyyatullahi Abdulrashid, commended President Buhari for accomplishing much of what he promised before his election.
He likened him to the captain of a capsizing ship and the messiah needed by the country.
Abdulrashid also spoke about the alleged marginalisation of Muslims, violent conflicts between farmers and herders and the problems of drug abuse among youths.
