Alhaji Mohammed Abba Jato, Chairman Borno State Transition and Resettlement Committees, and former lawmaker, says President Muhammadu Buhari deserves a second term because of the tremendous impact his administration has made.
He speaks with Sadiq Abubakar.
As the 2019 general elections draw closer, what is your view on the political situation in Nigeria? The 2019 Presidential election is fast approaching and the enemies of this nation are uniting.
They are planning to come back to power and hold this country to ransom, again.
Even the media are also angry with President Muhammadu Buhari, because there is no free money any more from the government for the looters to continue to loot and spend irresponsibly again.
TSA has taken over the situation and permanently addressed the problem of financial misappropriation by public office holders and even the civil servants that loot public funds.
The ex-generals are murmuring because there is no sign any where that President Buhari will renew their oil blocks contracts any more.
Similarly, the ex-governors and legislators are being arrested, dragged to court by the EFCC and ICPC sentenced to jail by the courts or/ and made to cough out public funds that were in their custody or that they misappropriated.
Also, some social cultural groups are also grumbling because there is no more ‘Ghana must go’ to ‘support Buhari campaigns’ as was in the past when public funds were misused.
These misused funds are now being investigated by the EFCC.
The issue of government sponsoring executives into offices has been blacklisted and condemned by President Buhari unlike in the past and those who benefitted are now paying dearly as they are being prosecuted by the EFCC.
That is also the reason some royal fathers are complaining because President Buhari does not pay homage to them by giving them cars and cash gifts as obtained in the past administrations.
Have institutions benefitted from the ongoing cleansing in the society? Members of the legislatures are not cooperating with the executive arm of government because budget padding and bribery before passage of the budgets which were said to be common during former Presidents Obasanjo, YarAdua and Jonathan, are no longer acceptable.
There is a change, a new one for that matter which is impressive and the majority of Nigerians especially, the poor masses of this country are highly impressed and grateful to God Almighty for giving Nigerians an honest, patriotic and committed leader in the person of President Buhari.
He is acclaimed worldwide as a patriotic and transparent leader who has good intention for the country and means well for Nigerians.
Fighting corruption alone with only a few behind him and supporting his good mission for the country is difficult fight.
We are hundred per cent behind him and plead with him to continue the good works he has started.
Do you think going by the level of corruption in the country, President Buhari’s anti- graft crusade will succeed during this first tenure? Can’t you see all over that both the public and private sectors have changed their system of operations and handling of the public finances? Even within our religious institutions, the corrupt religious leaders are lamenting the lack of free money because shady arms contracts for those involved in government contracts.
Before companies operate multiple banks accounts just to shortchanged the people , but today the federal government has introduced and successfully operates the Treasury Single Account (TSA) MDAs, and other agencies of government.
Similarly, the introduction of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) within the banking industry and TSA have exposed their sharp practices and brought to an end the shady deals and other illegal and corrupt transactions.
But some Nigerians are of the opinion that this has affected the socio- economic activities? No, instead it has affected the spoilt kids who are bitter and angry about it because President Muhammadu Buhari has made people to understand that their parents are not that rich but public funds looters.
This has made the kids or children to start instigating innocent and poor other children to paint President Buhari bad claiming that his government has brought hardships and suffering to the people of Nigeria which is not tire.
The truth of the matter is that Nigeria has never had a good leader and transparent government like that of President Buhari who came to power to cleanse the system of governances or leadership and not to enrich himself as past leaders did.
What about the oil sector of the country that has been creating lot of controversies? The oil bunkers have been complaining, the oil marketers are also not left behind and the avengers are desperately working to compound the problems by publicly instigating public outcries against the president.
His good intention is to ensure that the country and Nigerians do not experience or have any more fuel scarcity in any part of the country or long queues at fuel filling stations anymore as obtained in the past.
President Buhari’s plans and successes are shrouded and misconstrued by enemies of his government across the country.
They also sabotaged his performances by creating artificial fuel scarcity and forcing the reappearances of long queues at filling stations.
But their political antics and gimmicks were exposed God and the situation seems to be under control now despite the fact that the President monitors and supervises the affairs of the Petroleum Ministry directly along with the Sate Minister of Petroleum Resources working under him.
What would you suggest as the way forward for the country? Having overcome the people that had wanted to set this country ablaze, I pray that Almighty God should help President Muhammadu Buhari overcome all these obstacles and give him the wisdom, strength, ability, compassion and patience to take Nigeria to the Promised Land.
We are strongly in support of his second term bid, we are urging him re-contest to complete the good works he started since 2015.
Nigeria is a complex nation with large population and multi ethnic groups and religions backgrounds deserves a man of honour, character, discipline and integrity to rule her.
