President Muhammadu Buhari says he felt like “absconding” after seeing the enormity of the challenges facing the country when he assumed office, The president says he was bewildered to notice there was nothing was left for him to start off his administration
President Muhammadu Buhari after seeing the enormity of the challenges facing the country when he assumed office in May 2015 said he felt like “absconding”, The Cable reports. The president said he was utterly bewildered to notice that despite the rising cost of crude oil from which Nigeria made a fortune, nothing was left for him to start off his administration. Speaking on Thursday, November 3, during a parley with participants of the Senior Executive Course 38 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS) at the state house in Abuja, President Buhari blamed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Nigeria’s economic woes.
President Buhari said: “For 16 years and eight consecutive governments of the other party… there was unprecedented revenue realised, the oil projection which can be verified was 2.1 million barrels per day. From 1999-2015 the average cost of each Nigerian barrel of oil was $100 per barrel.
“When we came it fell to less than $30 per barrel and is now between 40 and 50. Actually I felt like absconding because 27 out of 36 states in Nigeria cannot pay salaries and and we know they have no other source than to depend on salaries.” President Buhari defeated former President, Goodluck Jonathan by 15.4m votes to 12.9m votes in Nigeria’s national election adjudged globally to be free and fair. He became the first opposition figure to win a presidential election in Nigeria since independence in 1960. A former military ruler, President Buhari said he is a convert to democracy and would do everything within his power to unite the country.
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