In apparent repudiation of his spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his long distance trekking on Sallah day was not about testing his physical fitness but to show respect to thousands of people who wanted to greet him on the fateful day.

His Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Shehu, had in a statement teased those pointing to the frailty of Mr. President that the now historic trek over a distance of 800 metres was an indication that he was fit to re-contest. This however drew flaks and taunts from a section of Nigerians who dismissed the idea of long walk as a precondition for Presidential fitness.

The President stated this when he received some socio-political groups from Daura Emirate Council, who paid him Sallah homage at his private residence in Daura, Katsina state, on Friday.

President Buhari said the trekking had nothing to do with his bid to seek re-election in 2019, adding that he had since made his intention known to Nigerians about his political ambition.

The President, who spoke in Hausa, said: “Let me react to some media reports about my trekking on Sallah day insinuating that I trekked to demonstrate my fitness for 2019 presidential election.

‘‘They were not seeing me so I came down so they could see me.

“I didn’t need to convince anyone about my health and the decision to contest for a second term- a decision that I made public in April this year.

“After the prayer, I noticed that many people wanted to see and I was in a black vehicle and security men were blocking them from seeing me.

“So, I opted to trek in spite the security implications because I knew nothing would happen to me by the grace of Allah,’’ he said.

The President used the opportunity of his meeting with his kinsmen to inform them that he has directed the Ministry of Agriculture and the CBN to review the processes on the issuance of loans to smallholder farmers.

He said: ‘‘We want to make it easier for them to assess the loans, particularly the underprivileged people in the society.

“It has become necessary for the government to do this because banks will insist on collaterals which majority of farmers do not have.

“For our agriculture policy to succeed, we must be able to reach smallholders farmers with loans without collaterals.  Collaterals are always a problem with smallholder farmers.’’

President Buhari also highlighted the achievements of the administration on local rice productions, which had expectedly led to the reduction of imports by over 90 per cent.

The President expressed delight that young people were returning to the farms and reaffirmed the Federal government’s commitment to implement policies to promote agriculture.

Earlier, the spokesman of the group, Malam Yusuf Mai’adua, applauded the President on his numerous achievements.

‘‘You have made us proud, the economy is back on the path of growth and you have laid a solid foundation for the development of the country,’’ he said.

Mai’adua disclosed the plans of the groups to organise a massive rally for his 2019 campaign, “as soon as the ban on political campaign is lifted’’, and invited him to make out time to attend.