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The President is Still What He Is – Shehu

Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu had said his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari fears no scandal and will not be threatened by prosecution after he leaves office by May 29.

Shehu stated this, during his appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Tuesday. He noted that Buhari does not operate any bank account stashed with proceeds of corruption.

“The President is still what he is; he is still above board,” 

 “As his spokesperson, I go to bed, I sleep soundly convinced that nobody, whether from Nigeria or outside the country, can call me to say we have discovered this bank account and your boss has these huge millions. That’s not Buhari; he is well above scandal and that is how it will end,” the presidential spokesman said.

Buhari, a former Nigerian military head of state will end his two-term tenure of eight years on May 29, 2023, when the President-Elect, Bola Tinubu is expected to be sworn in. During his campaign in 2015, Buhari vowed to combat endemic corruption in the country.

However, under his leadership, Nigeria dropped to 154th place out of 180 nations and territories on the most recent Corruption Perceptions Index for 2022, which Transparency International released in January 2023.

Many of his detractors believe that his performance in the fight against corruption fell short of expectations.

Asked why corruption is still ubiquitous in the country despite the President’s commitment to fighting the monster, Shehu said, “If you ask the President this question, he will equally tell you he is baffled by the fact that people who otherwise would have been in jail are riding their Rolls-Royce and their aircraft, roaming around.”

According to the constitution, the president or the executive arm may only look into and bring cases against people who are believed to be corrupt.

“However, the moment the President or the Executive Arm takes these cases to court, his job is done. And it is up to the court to determine whether one is guilty or not,” he noted.

Shehu claims that the nation’s highest judicial and legislative officials have faced corruption-related charges under the Buhari administration. “The third highest person in the Executive Arm of government is still undergoing trial,” he said.

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