“I have been in many places, including [Ministry of] Petroleum. I would have gone to jail if I had taken an oil well. For integrity and honesty, I have no regrets. By this, I have contributed to my social safety. I won’t go to jail," Buhari said. “You cannot accuse me of stealing. I have appointed ministers and they are in charge. I appeal to their integrity. When they come here [Federal Executive Council chambers], we ensure they follow the due process. If I owned an oil well, I would have gone to jail.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that if he had taken an oil well when he served as the Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) in 1994, he would have gone to jail by now.
The President said this on Monday when he received a delegation of the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria at Aso Rock in Abuja.
He also boasted that he could not be jailed at the end of his administration, due to his integrity.
According to a statement released by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President said he has no regret for the kind of person he is. He also said he does not care about who gets contract as long as the project is well-executed and within reasonable price.
The statement reads in part: “I am satisfied with what I am. I am happy I have kept myself and people close to me from benefiting from government contracts.
“I have been in many places, including [Ministry of] Petroleum. I would have gone to jail if I had taken an oil well. For integrity and honesty, I have no regrets. By this, I have contributed to my social safety. I won’t go to jail.
“You cannot accuse me of stealing. I have appointed ministers and they are in charge. I appeal to their integrity. When they come here [Federal Executive Council chambers], we ensure they follow the due process. If I owned an oil well, I would have gone to jail.”
Speaking on behalf of the delegation, the Vice-President, Sheikh Hadiyyatullahi Abdulrashid, commended Buhari for accomplishing much of what he promised before his election. He likened him to the captain of a capsizing ship and the messiah needed by the country.
Sheikh Abdulrashid also spoke about the alleged marginalisation of Muslims, violent conflicts between farmers and herders, the problems of drug abuse among youths and the fate of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) Kaduna, among other issues.