Former Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu, has revealed that his former principal rejected multiple lavish gifts and slashed key government expenses during his tenure.
In his newly released memoir, “According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesperson’s Experience,” launched on Tuesday in Abuja, Shehu detailed several instances where Buhari turned down extravagant privileges, including a ₦400 million armoured car fleet and a diamond-studded wristwatch.
Shehu recalled a meeting in 2015 where Buhari addressed top executives of a major construction company handling federal projects. He said the former president read the Riot Act over kickbacks and padded contracts.
He stated, “The chance to spell out this message clearly to senior government officials and the business community came on November 6, 2015 when a delegation of the Board of Directors of the giant construction company, handling government contracts such as roads, railways, bridges and facilities management, visited him at the State House.
“He told the delegation led by (name withheld), who was once Group Chair of Shell Nigeria: ‘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.”
According to Shehu, Buhari added, “We have equally been informed that you, as handlers of major contracts, build homes for government leaders. You buy expensive cars and maintain them for the beneficiaries.
“When they or close relations fall ill, you take them to hospitals abroad, including the use of air ambulances when that is warranted, at no cost to them.
“Our finding is that nothing you give is free. All such costs are built into government contracts. We don’t want that to continue.
“You have built a strong reputation over the years for doing good jobs, delivering them on time. The roads you built all over this city (Abuja) are still in good shape. You built the State House and the Aso Rock Villa. So, we will continue to patronise your services. But the high costs will be checked.
“From now going forward, the added costs and all this padding must end. If we ask for quotations from you, tell us the actual cost that the project entails. No 10 per cent, no added costs.”
According to Shehu, after Buhari spoke, “an eerie silence greeted the Riot Act as read by the President. No one in the room complained against his assessment, nor was there any dissent.”
The ex-presidential spokesman also recalled an instance where Buhari refused to accept a costly luxury wristwatch.
Shehu stated, “On another occasion, Chris Aire, a Nigerian-American icon in the global luxury watch and jewellery industry, gave me a wristwatch studded with diamonds, with the picture of the President embossed on its face. When I presented the timepiece to the President, he commended the success of Aire’s RED Gold brand overseas, stating that he should keep the flag of Nigeria flying but directed that the gift be politely returned. I dutifully did so.”
Earlier, on pages 114 and 115 of Chapter 6, Shehu revealed that the former President declined the purchase of new presidential armoured vehicles valued at N400m, choosing instead to retain the old ones.
The book also noted that Buhari, who mostly consumed simple meals typically associated with the lower class, instructed that the ₦10 million State House catering budget be reduced.
Shehu said, “Once, he was informed that the budget for Aso Villa’s catering needed to be raised slightly higher, and he asked to be told what the existing budget was. When they told him that ₦10m was needed for the State House, including the Vice President, the guest houses, and the banquets in honour of visiting leaders and so forth, he screamed and asked that this be pruned instead.”
Buhari, according to Shehu, protested: “Look at my table, what do I eat, how much does it cost?”
On the rejected cars, he narrated, “In the meeting with Buhari, the Permanent Secretary, State House, Mr Nebolisa Emodi, informed him that he was in receipt of ₦400m from the treasury to buy five customised armoured Mercedes Benz S-600 (V222) cars for the President’s use.
“The proposal to buy the vehicles had been made at the twilight of President Jonathan’s administration, but he reportedly shelved the approval for his successor (Buhari) to handle. ‘What is wrong with the cars left behind by the former President?’ Buhari asked Emodi. He then told him: ‘They are all right for my use.’
“He (Buhari) continued with the vehicles used by former President Jonathan until one of the two Mercedes broke down on his way to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.”
Shehu stated that during a briefing with Emodi, Buhari approved a plan to cut down the State House’s operating expenses.
He also instructed the Permanent Secretary to enhance internal financial and accounting controls, ensuring that all State House expenditures were captured within the approved budget to eliminate the frequent reliance on Presidential Intervention Funds.