PRESIDENTIAL MEDIA CHAT: See 25 Most Powerful Quotes made by President Buhari

Buhari was often criticised for speaking on the crucial issues to foreign media during his frequent trips abroad.

The leader of the nation answered questions from a panel of journalists on a number of national issues. The president has given answers to some questions from Nigerians.
The panel of interviewers were Kayode Akintemi (Channels TV), Ngozi Anyaegbulam (Media World International), Munir Dan Ali (Daily Trust) and Ibanga Isine.
Here are the top 25 quotes of President Buhari
On Boko Haram, Chibok girls
1. “We are looking for a credible Boko Haram leadership that will convince us that Chibok girls are alive. Our priority is on orphaned IDPs to get them back to schools, resettle them and giving them hope.”
2. “I am honest with you, I don’t know whether Chibok girls are alive.”
3. “If Boko Haram continues with suicide bombings, we might consider banning wearing Hijab.”
On fight against corruption
4. “Thirty years ago as Head of State, we collected those we perceived to be corrupt and put them in protective custody, until they prove they were not guilty. At present, those suspected of being corrupt are innocent until they are proven guilty.”
5. “Nigeria doing quite well in anti-corruption war, treasury looters will eventually end up in courts.”
6. “Money has been recovered, whatever has been recovered we have to end up in courts.”
7. “I swore by the Holy Quran to protect and obey the constitution, no one will be above the law.”
8. “If you find any of my 36 Ministers with a corruption case in court name them so I can look into it.”
On Shiite clashes with army
9. “I can not comment on the Shite crisis as I am a seating duck, I have to let investigations be.”
10. “We have a system of investigation as a government and as the head of the federal government, I have to wait for official report before I comment.”
On assets
11. “I have declared my assets four times in the past. You have the constitutional right to go to the relevant government agency to go and seek for it.”
On the agitation for Biafra over alleged marginalisation
12. “We have Boko Haram and then Biafra. Help me define the extent of marginalisation. Who is marginalising them? Why? How? Do you know? … The constitution said there must be a minister from each state. Who is the Minister of Petroleum? Is he not Igbo? Who is the Governor of Central Bank? Is he not Igbo? Who is the Minister of Labour? Who is the Minister of Science and Technology? Who is the junior minister of education?”
13. “And the one you are calling Kanu. Do you know he has two passports – one Nigerian, one British – and he came to this country without any passport?… There are criminal allegations against him and I hope the court will listen to the case.”
14. “We will not allow anyone create a state within the Nigerian state.”
15. “There’s a treasonable charge against Kanu and I hope the court will listen to the case against him.”
On the continued detention of suspected looters and alleged violation of court orders by the DSS13.
16. “You can see the type atrocities that those people committed against soldiers and the country. The former president goes to the governor of the Central Bank and say, ‘give N40bn to so, so, so… And then he fails to account for it and you allow him to go and see his daughter in London while and you have two million people in IDPs, half of them don’t even know their parents. Which kind of country do you want to run?”
On naira devaluation
17. “I need to be convinced. If you devalue the naira, against what? Dollar, sterling, yen, French Franc?”
On Dasuki
18. “If you see the kind of atrocities people like Dasuki committed you won’t give them bail.”
On minimum wage
19. “I assure you that Federal Government will not touch the minimum wage but we cannot determine what the states will do.”
20. “We may have to send the young unemployed youth seeking N5k fee to farm to earn the money.”
Reported plans by the National Assembly to spend billions on cars
21. “I cannot see the National Assembly spending N45bn to buy cars on top of the transport allowance they collect.
On the pace of the anti-corruption war
22. “Our major constraint is that accused person must go to court first and under such circumstances, we cannot prejudge what the courts will do but there are documents and how the government will react through the Ministry of Justice will determine what we will do because what we are going so we cannot determine issues while they are still in court.”
23. “Members of the cabinet are supposed to declare their assets.”
On whether funds have been recovered from looters
24. “Money has been recovered but the fact that whatever we recover will end up in court because Nigerians will always want to know the truth and the truth will be what the courts have discovered by the submission made to them in terms of bank statements where money was recovered, where money was lodged, when it was lodged, how it was lodged whether it was money from petrol, customs and excise or money directly from the Central Bank. When we do that I think Nigerians will feel a bit better.”
25. “It is a very nasty situation that we are in, but we cannot fold our hands and not do anything; we are doing our best.”

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