– President Buhari has justified his incessant foreign trips which according to him were taken in the interest of the country – The president was responding to his critics especially Governor Fayose who said his trips would not solve the country’s problems – Buhari who is on one week vacation added that his government was winning the war against terrorism

President Muhammadu Buhari has responded
to those criticising his incessant trips abroad,
saying there was always political and
economic justifications for them, The Punch
reports.
Fielding questions from some Nigerian
journalists on Friday shortly before he
commenced a six-day vacation, Buhari said:
“ Every one of my trips can be politically or
economically assessed. I recall that the first
trip I had was to go to Chad and Niger. The
trip was mainly because of Nigeria’s security.
“We campaigned based on three issues -
security, economy (employment) and
corruption. And then the G-7 invited me to
Germany. After that, I went to Cameroon. I
then went to the United Nations General
Assembly .”
Last week, Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti
state had said the President’s incessant
foreign trips were unnecessary and already
bleeding the economy with about $1m being
spent per trip.
Buhari said none of his trips so far has been
frivolous, wondering how Fayose arrived at
the figure he gave.
He said: “ I have not seen any frivolous
journey that I undertook. I understand that
the governor of Ekiti state said that every trip
I make costs Nigeria at least $1m. I do not
know how he worked that out but every trip
that I have made, there must be economic
and political reasons that justified them.
“Those who do not see it the way the
government sees it have the right not to
agree and say whatever they like. But we will
try and give them the appropriate reply .”
Speaking on the ongoing war against
corruption, Buhari said his administration
was going to see it through, denying
allegations that it was selective.
He noted that the need for firm evidences
against corrupt persons was one of the main
challenges facing the war.
The president insisted that his government is
winning the war against terrorism despite the
killings being witnessed in public places.
On the missing Chibok girls, he said: “ We are
looking for reliable information on the girls’
whereabouts. Who is in charge of them?
Unless we get convincing and credible
intelligence about them, we cannot negotiate
with anybody.
“We will negotiate if the leadership of Boko
Haram is credible, bonafide and established.
Government is willing to discuss with them
to arrive at an agreement on how to recover
the girls.”
President Buhari added that he would rather
have people respect him than fear him.
President Buhari has travelled to over 20
countries since he took over power on May
29, 2015. He is presently out of the country
on one week vacation . Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo will perform the functions of the
president while he is away.
Many have criticised him for spending
majority of his time outside the country but
the presidency has said the foreign trips
were necessitated by the president’s desire
to block and recover funds looted out of
Nigeria.