Former President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to transparency and accountability has been highlighted in a book written by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
Gatekeepers News reports that Buhari, according to Shehu’s book, “According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesperson’s Experience,” rejected a 10% kickback from a reputable construction company that handles government contracts.
The company’s delegation visited Buhari at the State House, but he was unimpressed by their offer. “We have been informed that percentage cuts – 10 per cent or more – are built into your contracts, to be shared among government leaders and civil servants. This must stop. We will not accept kickbacks,” Buhari said, according to Shehu’s book.
The former President also directed the company to stop building homes for government leaders, buying expensive cars for them, and taking care of their medical expenses abroad. “All such costs are built into government contracts. We don’t want that to continue,” Buhari emphasised.
Shehu also revealed that Buhari returned a diamond plate wristwatch offered to him as a gift by a Nigerian American icon in the luxury watch and jewelry industry. “When he presented a timepiece to the president, he (Buhari) commended the success of the brand overseas, adding that he should keep the flag of Nigeria flying ‘but directed that the gift be politely returned. I dutifully did so,'” Shehu wrote.
