President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday disclosed that he met virtually an empty national treasury on assumption in office on May 29.
Apart from millions of dollars debts the country is owing, the President said it was a national disgrace that state and federal workers in the country are being owed backlog of salaries.
Buhari spoke at a meeting with State House correspondents.
He said: “I hope we are starting gradually. Treasury is virtually empty and debts running into millions of dollars. The fact that state workers and even federal workers have not been paid their salaries is such a disgrace for Nigeria.
“I think Nigeria should be in a position to even pay its workers, this bad management that we find ourselves in we really need your help to protect us from people before they match on us.”
On his appointment of Femi Adesina, he said: “It is not by accident that I got the best of you to be the special adviser. He is one of the 15 aides I had to get clearance from the Senate to appoint. I brought one of the best of you so that he can consistently defend me against you.
“Whether my job is a difficult one or easy is up to him, but I’m here to thank you in advance for what good and ill you are going to do to me.
“I have to quickly come and see you and welcome you to this place. I hope what happened of recent between the former president and one of you will not happen between me and you.”
The Chairman of the State House Press Corps, Kehinde Amodu, thanked the President for finding it worthy to visit journalists on his first day in the Villa.
