NATIONAL: ‘We have nothing to hide, our books are open to all Nigerians’

PRESIDENT Buhari has said nothing is shrouded in secrecy about how his administration is piloting the affairs of the country.

He noted that the nation’s balance sheet is open for the National Assembly and other Nigerians interested in scrutinising it.

Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, in a statement quoted the president to have stressed that his administration has nothing to hide, in an interview with journalists in Daura, Katsina State. This was after he participated in the registration and revalidation exercise of the All Progressives Congress in his hometown.

Titled, “We have nothing to hide, our books will always be open President Buhari,” the statement said that President Buhari assured Nigerians of full implementation of the 2021 budget with transparency and openness to ensure all the targets are met for the benefits of Nigerians.

It added that the President praised the National Assembly for showing due diligence by subjecting the budget to close scrutiny before the passage.

 Buhari, according to Shehu, said the budget captured some of the visions of his administration and he will stop at nothing to ensure effective implementation.

Buhari said, “We have directed all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies to follow what is in the budget so that we can get the National Assembly to easily support the next budget. We can tell them what we have received, and how it was spent.

“We are always ready to make the balance sheet available for all Nigerians and the National Assembly. We have nothing to hide.’’

The president noted that the attention given to agriculture became necessary to diversify and strengthen the economy following the dwindling fortune coming from oil.

“We are still grateful to Morocco for the support they gave us in producing fertiliser in the country. We have 42 companies producing fertiliser in six geopolitical zones,” he added.