President Muhammadu Buhari has said his administration has not done badly since assuming office in 2015, and that Nigerians should reflect on the present state of the nation compared to when he assumed office in 2015.
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The President stated this in an interview with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Friday monitored by BusinessDay.
It was Buhari’s second interview in two days, purposely organised to mark his six years in office and Nigeria’s Democracy Day.
He said the security situation in the NorthEast and SouthSouth was better now compared to when he assumed office, adding that despite the drop in oil prices and revenue his administration had performed.
“Well, I want Nigerians to be fair to this administration. They should reflect seriously on the time we came in especially as far as the North East and the South-South is concerned. Where we are now, resources, how much we are producing. The previous administration before me was producing 2.1 million per day at 100 American dollars per barrel.
“When we came in, militants in the South-South were unleashed on this administration and production went down to half a million barrels per day and then in the market, oil price collapsed.
When asked if he would leave office when his tenure expires in 2023, Buhari said he had taken an oath to spend eight years in office and would abide by the constitution.
The President stressed that his administration is focusing attention on agriculture because it was obvious there was a need to diversify the economy due to a drop in revenue from crude oil.
He said the effort had been made to increase access to fertilizer by farmers since he assumed office to improve the production of food across the country.
“Fertilizer was expensive when we came in. We want to make it available to all the farmers because crude oil has almost collapsed and we are not getting money like we used to do. A lot of people should go back to the farm because we want productivity so that people can get food”, Buhari said.
Speaking on the future of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Buhari said he wished the party would rule for a long time, adding that recent nationwide membership registration had strengthened the APC ahead of 2023.
He said that individuals who finance terrorism in various parts of the country do so to remain relevant, adding that it was obvious that the majority of Nigerians appreciated him and understand what he was doing.
