Former Head of State and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, (CPC) General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) has decried the near-collapse of infrastructure in the country, saying the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has nothing to offer the country.

Addressing loyalists and supporters of the party during the grand finale of the campaign of the governorship candidate of the CPC for Kogi State, Mr. James Ocholi (SAN) in Lokoja yesterday, Gen. Buhari said the country would be better off without the PDP.

He urged the present crop of leaders in the country to always take the interest of the masses into consideration in whatever they do, adding that his concern was for the ordinary Nigerians.

The former head of state added that despite the huge revenue the nation had generated from the sale of crude oil since the return to civilian rule, the lives of the downtrodden have not improved.

He further urged Nigerians to take their destiny in their own hands by shunning corrupt politicians so as to put the nation on the path of prosperity.

Calling on the electorate to vote for Ocholi in Saturday’s governorship poll, Buhari stressed the need for the people of the state to vote a candidate that would improve their welfare.

He maintained that the party would continue to enforce discipline as well as work for the wellbeing of the people, assuring that all governors elected under the platform of the party would continue to be accountable to the people.

Nasarawa State governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura had, earlier in his remark, said the CPC was laying a solid foundation for the country’s democracy, assuring that they would continue to uphold the party’s virtues of accountability, honesty, integrity and fear of God.

He urged the teeming supporters of the party in the state not be scared of the PDP’s rhetoric, deception or grammar, urging them to vote them out on Saturday.

He described the CPC as the party of the downtrodden, saying their programmes were meant to improve the living condition of the people.

Ocholi had also in his remark promised to utilise the resources of the state, for the wellbeing of the people if elected, saying he was poised to transforming the state.
He promised to accord youth and women empowerment top priority, even as he assured that both the old and pregnant women would be given free medical care.

General Buhari,sir,Nigeria WILL be better off without YOU.
Party of the downtrodden?that means I can't join

can somebody tell this noise maker to keep his mouth shout, u are such a noise maker, if pdp does not has anything to offer so what about u? A fool @ 70ys, animal that lives among human being

Amen.

greeze:

can somebody tell this noise maker to keep his mouth shout, u are such a noise maker, if pdp does not has anything to offer so what about u? A fool @ 70ys, animal that lives among human being

He's peaking the truth. Focus on the truth and less on him for once.

[size=18pt]General Buhari's Maiden Speech: - January 1984[/size]

In pursuance of the primary objective of saving our great nation from total collapse, I, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari of the Nigerian army have, after due consultation amongst the services of the armed forces, been formally invested with the authority of the Head of the Federal Military Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is with humility and a deep sense of responsibility that I accept this challenge and call to national duty.



As you must have heard in the previous announcement, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1979) has been suspended, except those sections of it which are exempted in the constitution.The change became necessary in order to put an end to the serious economic predicament and the crisis of confidence now afflicting our nation. Consequently, the Nigerian armed forces have constituted themselves into a Federal Military Government comprising of a Supreme Military Council, a National Council of States, a Federal Executive Council at the centre and State Executive Councils to be presided over by military governors in each of the states of the federation. Members of these councils will be announced soon.The last Federal Military Government drew up a programme with the aim of handing over political power to the civilians in 1979. This programme as you all know, was implemented to the letter. The 1979 constitution was promulgated. However, little did the military realise that the political leadership of the second republic will circumvent most of the checks and balances in the constitution and bring the present state of general insecurity. The premium on political power became so exceedingly high that political contestants regarded victory at elections as a matter of life and death struggle and were determined to capture or retain power by all means.



It is true that there is a worldwide economic recession. However, in the case of Nigeria, its impact was aggravated by mismanagement. We believe the appropriate government agencies have good advice but the leadership disregarded their advice. The situation could have been avoided if the legislators were alive to their constitutional responsibilities; Instead, the legislators were preoccupied with determining their salary scales, fringe benefit and unnecessary foreign travels, et al, which took no account of the state of the economy and the welfare of the people they represented. As a result of our inability to cultivate financial discipline and prudent management of the economy, we have come to depend largely on internal and external borrowing to execute government projects with attendant domestic pressure and soaring external debts, thus aggravating the propensity of the outgoing civilian administration to mismanage our financial resources. Nigeria was already condemned perpetually with the twin problem of heavy budget deficits and weak balance of payments position, with the prospect of building a virile and viable economy.




The last general election was anything but free and fair. The only political parties that could complain of election rigging are those parties that lacked the resources to rig. There is ample evidence that rigging and thuggery were relative to the resources available to the parties. This conclusively proved to us that the parties have not developed confidence in the presidential system of government on which the nation invested so much material and human resources.While corruption and indiscipline have been associated with our state of under-development, these two evils in our body politic have attained unprecedented height in the past few years. The corrupt, inept and insensitive leadership in the last four years has been the source of immorality and impropriety in our society. Since what happens in any society is largely a reflection of the leadership of that society, we deplore corruption in all its facets. This government will not tolerate kick-backs, inflation of contracts and over-invoicing of imports etc. Nor will it condone forgery, fraud, embezzlement, misuse and abuse of office and illegal dealings in foreign exchange and smuggling.



Arson has been used to cover up fraudulent acts in public institutions. I am referring to the fire incidents that gutted the P&T buildings in Lagos, the Anambra State Broadcasting Corporation, the Republic Building at Marina, the Federal Ministry of Education, the Federal Capital Development Authority Accounts at Abuja and the NET Building. Most of these fire incidents occurred at a time when Nigerians were being apprehensive of the frequency of fraud scandals and the government incapacity to deal with them. Corruption has become so pervasive and intractable that a whole ministry has been created to stem it.



Fellow Nigerians, this indeed is the moment of truth. My colleagues and I – the Supreme Military Council, must be frank enough to acknowledge the fact that at the moment, an accurate picture of the financial position is yet to be determined. We have no doubt that the situation is bad enough. In spite of all this, every effort will be made to ensure that the difficult and degrading conditions under which we are living are eliminated. Let no one however be deceived that workers who have not received their salaries in the past eight or so months will receive such salaries within today or tomorrow or that hospitals which have been without drugs for months will be provided with enough immediately.We are determined that with the help of God we shall do our best to settle genuine payments to which government is committed, including backlog of workers’ salaries after scrutiny. We are confident and we assure you that even in the face of the global recession, and the seemingly gloomy financial future, given prudent management of Nigeria’s existing financial resources and our determination to substantially reduce and eventually nail down rises in budgetary deficits and weak balance of payments position.The Federal Military Government will reappraise policies with a view to paying greater attention to the following areas:



The economy will be given a new impetus and better sense of direction.
Corrupt officials and their agents will be brought to book.
In view of the drought that affected most parts of the country, the federal government will, with the available resources, import food stuffs to supplement the shortfalls suffered in the last harvest.
Our foreign policy will both be dynamic and realistic. Africa will of course continue to be the centre piece of our foreign policy. The morale and combat readiness of the armed forces will be given high priority. Officers and men with high personal and professional integrity will have nothing to fear.



The Chief Justice of Nigeria and all other holders of judiciary appointments within the federation can continue in their appointments and the judiciary shall continue to function under existing laws subject to such exceptions as may e decreed from time to time by the Federal Military Government. All holders of appointments in the civil service, the police and the National Security Organisation shall continue to exercise their functions in the normal way subject to changes that may be introduced by the Federal Military Government. All those chairmen and members of statutory corporations, parastatals and other executive departments are hereby relieved of their appointments with immediate effect.



The Federal Military Government will maintain and strengthen existing diplomatic relations with other states and with international organisations and institutions such as the Organisation of African Unity, the United Nations and its organs, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, ECOWAS and the Commonwealth etc. The Federal Military Government will honour and respect all treaties and obligations entered into by the previous government and we hope that such nations and bodies will reciprocate this gesture by respecting our country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.



Fellow Nigerians, finally, we have dutifully intervened to save this nation from imminent collapse. We therefore expect all Nigerians, including those who participated directly or indirectly in bringing the nation to this present predicament, to cooperate with us. This generation of Nigerians, and indeed future generations, have no country other than Nigeria. We shall remain here and salvage it together.

May God bless us all. Good morning.


https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-693700.64.html

[size=18pt]05 January 1984 - ITN News (video clip)
GEN. BUHARI PRESIDES AT SWEARING IN OF MILITARY GOVERNORS AND WARNS THEM OF PENALTIES FOR CRIME AND CORRUPTION. (video clip)[/size]

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Nineteen military governors were formally appointed by the new Head of State, Major-General Mohammed Buhari, and other members of the country's Supreme Military Council (SMC) in Lagos on January 4 to run Nigeria's federal states.

General Buhari attended the official swearing-in ceremony, which came four days after he led a bloodless coup ousting former President Shehu Shagari.

Speaking at the ceremony, Buhari reminded his new governors of their duties.All were chosen, he said, for their ability to discharge their responsibilities in the best interests of the country.He went on to warn them that crime and corruption for personal gain, one reason for the coup, would be ruthlessly punished.

General Buhari added the corruption and hoarding in the private sector would not be tolerated.He ended his speech by telling the assembled governors they were answerable to the country's military chiefs of staff and subject to redeployment at any time.

All former state governors have been given a week to report to police.

General Buhari has pledged to revive the country's economy and also to end the armed robberies in major cities that have become commonplace in the last few years.The fate of former top officials in the Shagari administration is still to be decided by the new military government, and Shagari himself is being held in custody.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-693700.64.html

5th January 1984 - ITN News (video Clip)
[size=18pt]New military ruler General Buhari holds his first Press Conference[/size]

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He says he has uncovered widespread corruption and will bring the guilty to trial, he will also negotiate an IMF loan to ease the severe economic crisis.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-693700.64.html

3rd January 1984  ITN News (video clips)
[size=18pt]Buhari moves fast to rescue economy with prompt debt repayment a few days after military take over[/size]

Look at Nigerian economy after takeover by military rulers who have just paid off $50m loan;

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https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-693700.32.html

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https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-693700.32.html