Buhari: I Trekked To Show Respect To My People

President Muhammadu Buhari has stated that his 800 metre walk home from Eid praying ground on Sallah day was to show respect to thousands of people who wanted to greet him on the fateful day, and not to exhibit his physical fitness.

The President made this known when he hosted some socio-political groups from Daura Emirate Council, who paid him Sallah homage at his private residence in Daura, Katsina state, on Friday.

The president who refuted claims that the walk was intended to help create awareness for his re-election bid, said that he has since made his intention to run for the president seat for a very long time.

The President, who spoke in Hausa, said: “Let me react to some media reports about my trekking on Sallah day insinuating that I trekked to demonstrate my fitness for 2019 presidential election.

‘‘They were not seeing me, so I came down so they could see me.

“I didn’t need to convince anyone about my health and the decision to contest for a second term- a decision that I made public in April this year.

“After the prayer, I noticed that many people wanted to see and I was in a black vehicle and security men were blocking them from seeing me.

“So, I opted to trek in spite of the security implications because I knew nothing would happen to me by the grace of Allah,’’ he said.

President Buhari also told his people the effort he had made to ensure that the Ministry of Agriculture and the CBN review the processes on the issuance of loans to smallholder farmers.

He said: ‘‘We want to make it easier for them to access the loans, particularly the underprivileged people in the society.

“It has become necessary for the government to do this because banks will insist on collaterals which majority of farmers do not have.

“For our agriculture policy to succeed, we must be able to reach smallholders farmers with loans without collaterals. Collaterals are always a problem with smallholder farmers.’’

The President expressed delight that young people were returning to the farms and reaffirmed the Federal government’s commitment to implement policies to promote agriculture.

Malam Yusuf Mai’adua, the spokesman of the group, commended the efforts of the president and his numerous achievement.

‘‘You have made us proud, the economy is back on the path of growth and you have laid a solid foundation for the development of the country,’’ he said.

The group further reiterated their support for his 2019 re-election bid and their preparedness to organise a massive rally for his 2019 campaign, “as soon as the ban on political campaign is lifted’’, and invited him to make out time to attend.