Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday said Nigerians have a lot to be thankful for by having Muhammadu Buhari as their president, saying the Nigerian leader has been doing the country a great favour by being honest and incorruptible.

“We are very fortunate that God gave us a leader like President Muhammadu Buhari at the time we are facing,” Mr Osinbajo said while meeting with a group of entertainers from the northern region at the State House. “And the reason why I say so is because, you see, if we don’t have a steady hand, matured person who understands a lot of things and who is respected by the people, there will be more chaos and we won’t even know where this will end.”

“We must continue to thank God that at least we have a leader who is considered honest all across the country, everybody knows that he’s a man of his words, no matter where you are in the country, you know that he’s a man of his words, you know he’s honest and you know he is not stealing the resources of the country,” the vice president added.

Laolu Akande, a spokesman for the vice president who released transcripts of the meeting, said it was attended by several top-rated Kannywood personalities led by Adamu Dauda Rarara.

“We are still fighting insurgency, Boko Haram insurgency and ISWAP, then we have banditry here and there in the North-West and things like that. All of these have occurrences in the life of a nation. Every nation runs into trouble, but it is the government at the time that must take the responsibility,” Mr Osinbajo further stated.

The comments came as Nigerians were lamenting worsening economic hardship and insecurity, with Mr Buhari promising but failing repeatedly to contain the crises.

Whereas the regime said it has lifted 10.5 million Nigerians out of poverty, the World Bank said seven million Nigerians dropped below the poverty line due to worsening inflation in the country in 2020.

Rising inflation rates have sent prices of food and commodities through the roof, as the nation’s central bank battles foreign exchange crises.

Mr Buhari has also come under fire for his inability to rein in the excesses of armed groups across the country, including the bandit occupation of communities, mass abduction of schoolchildren, among other emergencies.

Despite purchasing multibillion-dollar weapons and fighter jets, with a promise to eliminate armed bandits and Boko Haram terrorists, Nigerians have decried the lack of tangible results overall.

Earlier in February, ruling APC members took turns to lambast Mr Buhari’s lazy approach to resolving the nation’s worsening insecurity.

“It is indeed a national disgrace that this thing is happening on a daily basis. I remember last year alone; there was a supplementary appropriation,” Adamu Aliero, an APC senator from Kebbi, stated.

The senator added: “We approved over N865 billion and this year’s budget, I know we have close to about N1 trillion, and we are getting little in terms of the outcome.”

Senate President Ahmad Lawan was also unsparing, urging the Nigerian military to “wake up” to protect Nigerians.

“The expectation of this Senate is that there is supposed to be a remarkable difference in success in terms of the fight against insurgency, banditry, and militancy in Nigeria,” Mr Lawan said. “When we declared the bandits as terrorists, my understanding was they are going to be dealt with ruthlessly now. I wonder whether that is the case.”

Still, Mr Osinbajo, who seeks to succeed Mr Buhari, said the administration has performed beyond expectation, a position he would likely emphasise when campaign season opens later in the year.