Buhari: President didn’t say Nigerians are criminals – Presidency

The denial was contained in a statement released by presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu.

The Presidency has denied reports that President Muhammadu Buhari described Nigerians as criminals during an interview with the UK Telegraph.

According to the Telegraph, Buhari said that Nigerians’ reputation for crime had made them unwelcome in foreign countries.

The denial was contained in a statement released by presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu.

It reads:

“President Buhari was asked about the flood of migrants from Nigeria and the fraudulent applications for asylum put in by people desperate to leave their motherland at any cost, and it was this question that elicited his response.”

“Unfortunately, there are also Nigerians giving their country a bad image abroad, and it is to those Nigerians that the President referred in his comments.”

“These Nigerians who leave their country to go and make mischief on foreign shores have given the rest of us a bad reputation that we daily struggle to overcome.”

“President Buhari is very aware of the problems the people of Nigeria face both at home and abroad, and he is not shying away from admitting them even as he focuses on solutions to bring them to a permanent end.”

The Telegraph interview led to widespread outrage among Nigerians who took to social media to express their annoyance at the president’s comments.

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