Nigeria’s retired president President Muhammadu Buhari claims he vacated the highest office in the land with clean hands, saying he was far from being egocentric during his eight years in power.
Speaking to governors of the All Progressive Congress when they paid a courtesy call on him in Kaduna on Wednesday said he left the presidency in May 2023 with apparently the same material possessions he had acquired before he came to power in 2015.
He praised the goodwill of his successor President Bola Tinubu for the renovation of his private residence in Kaduna which had seen extensive refurbishment on the inside.
The cost of the renovation has not been revealed.
Mr Buhari was quoted in a statement by his publicity secretary, Garba Shehu that his austere lifestyle meant the former military leader had no interest in accumulating wealth while in office.
Buhari, 82, a native of Daura, Katsina State has been living in Kaduna since his retirement almost two years ago. He was military head of state in Nigeria from 1983 to 1985 and was known for his stringent life.
According to an itinerary of his assets released shortly after assuming office, Buhari has in his name five houses, no more than N30 million in his private account, two parcels of land which are not developed, farms, an orchard, ranch, livestock, including 270 cattle, 35 sheep, and five horses.
There were negligible additions to this list on the eve of his second four-year term in office in 2019.
Nigerian leaders before him have been accused of embezzling hundreds of billions of dollars of state funds while in office.
