President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday hailed the successes recorded by the country in agriculture in the past two years and thanked the State governors for performing well in administration.
The President gave the indication at the Presidential Council chambers, State House, Abuja, where he received the governors who came on a good will visit to him after his return from London and recovery from sickness.
“You are all doing your best and we are lucky our best is proving to be good enough.
“(Our) emphasis (has been) on agriculture and solid minerals right from our campaign days.
“We are more successful on agriculture because I think people could not afford to buy foreign food.
“And all that we have learnt we will revert to the old system that we had of cooperatives right from local government levels up to the centre.
“I am very pleased with the reaction and don’t forget, I was told that most of the food, because Naira has gone down, are being bought by people from Burkina Faso to the Central African Republic.
“That trade has been there for generations and we cannot stop it.”
The President remarked that it was unfortunate that our Naira was down and explained that the devaluation of the naira was not the making of the administration.
Buhari stated that people had asked him whether we should be stricter on the border and so on “we said that we will be strict on imported food so that our farmers can be more encouraged.’’
He also thanked God that last year and this year, the harvest throughout the country was much better than it used to be.
The president expressed elation that Nigerians had embraced farming and had worked hard on their lands to produce more food.
He also commended the efforts by the Vice President in his capacity as acting president during his three month absence from the country.
“He (Osinbajo) exploited his youth and the intellect to be all over the place.
“Thank God that I have the time to watch him in the media 24 hours and I congratulate him and I allowed him to come and see me so that I can personally thank him for all that he has done,’’ he said.
The President also stated that he was very happy with all the national prayers across the country which he acknowledged was very much covered and reported breaking ethnic and religious barriers.
He explained that some of the prayer groups in London were singing the national anthem “that I should go back home.
“Eventually I have come back home and I hope that those who are not stuck there will come back and join us here.’’
He advised those who would not be able to return to carefully weigh the economic implication and how they were going to affect them.
He added that those who had and sold their property in London should repatriate the gains and invest in the country as such funds were needed “badly’’.
Buhari thanked the governors for the visit and stated that his morale had been raised greatly by the love shown to him.
The Zamfara state Governor and Chairman of the governors Forum, Abdulaziz Yari, had stated that the governors were happy with the recovery and return of the President.
He thanked him for the assistance he gave to the states to enable them pay salaries adding that without such support, some of the states could not have functioned well.
The Ebonyi Gov.Dave Umahi, also thanked God for the recovery of the President and his support to the states in the agriculture sector, Paris Club refund and assistance in payment of salaries.
Umahi noted that Buhari had treated all states equally in spite of party differences noting that it demonstrated the unity of the country.
He thanked the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, for stabilizing the polity as acting President and reaffirmed the commitment of the governors to make the country indissolubke.
