President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed disgust over the escalating security situation in both the Northwest and North Central of the country.
The President said: “Nigerians know that we have done our best. “However, what is coming out of the North West and North Central is very disturbing.”
The President, who spoke today, July 31 at the end of Eid-el-Kabir prayer, which he observed with members of his immediate family and aides in the Aso Rock presidential villa, Abuja, said that while much has been achieved in the area of security, from the situation he inherited in 2015, more still needed to be done.
He gave assurance that there would be more resources for the country’s military, police and other security agencies to deal with the unwanted security situation in some areas of the country.
The President described the situation in the North West and North Central parts of the country as “very disturbing.”
Responding to a specific question on the performance of the Service Chiefs which recently, he said needed to get better, the President said that the Military, the Police and other security agencies are working hard.
“We are making available resources to them to even do better. From the reports I am getting, they could do much better…they could do much better. But we are keeping them on the alert all the time to do their duties.”
On the issue of corruption, President Buhari said that all past and present cases will be fully investigated.
“This is why we put the commission (of investigation) in place. There has been abuse of trust by people trusted by the previous administration and this administration.”
He stressed that all of such cases will be uncovered and firmly dealt with by his government.
On the specific case of the Niger Delta, the President decried the wastage of the resources earmarked for the betterment of the lives of the people of that region, lamenting that corruption had been unhelpful in that regard, especially “if you recall there is the 13 per cent derivation.”
He also warned against the vandalization of oil pipelines in the oil- producing areas which often results in environmental pollution.
“Those who are blowing pipelines and interfering with the production of petroleum products are hurting their people more than the rest of Nigerians because majority of their people are fishermen, fisherwomen and farmers.
“Now if they pollute the land and the waters, the fish goes into the deeper sea where the people cannot go and they cannot grow anything. They are hurting their immediate communities more than any other thing.”
