President Muhammadu Buhari has apologised to Nigerians for what he called the temporary pains and suffering some of his measures to revamp the economy caused them.
In his last national broadcast before heading home to Daura after his eight years tenure on Sunday morning the President said the difficult choices he made were for the overall good of the country.
“In the course of revamping the economy, we made some difficult choices, most of which yielded the desired results.
“Some of the measures led to temporary pain and suffering for which I sincerely apologised to my fellow countrymen, but the measures were taken for the overall good of the country,” he pleaded.
The President admitted challenges to his administration and grieved for children in captivity and the loss of lives to insecurity, but his summary was clear.
“As I retire home to Daura, Katsina State, I feel fulfilled that we have started the Nigeria Re-Birth by taking the initial critical steps,” he said.
“I am confident that I am leaving office with Nigeria better in 2023 than in 2015.”
One of the areas in which the President is happy with his performance is the country’s electoral process.
Celebrating another peaceful transition of power from one elected government to another, he called for accountability.
“We must as a nation improve and sustain gains we make in the electoral process, on an incremental basis for Nigeria to take its rightful place among Nations,” he said.
“To ensure that our democracy remains resilient and our elected representatives remain accountable to the people, I am leaving behind an electoral process which guarantees that votes count, results are credible, elections are fair and transparent and the influence of money in politics reduced to the barest minimum. And Nigerians can elect leaders of their choice.”
The President had promised to tackle insecurity, fight corruption, and strengthen the Nigerian economy, promises critics have accused him of failing badly on.
In his broadcast, the President admitted that he started his tenure with a “great deal of promise and expectation” before moving to defend his performance and stating his conviction that “the in-coming administration will quicken the pace of this walk to see a Nigeria that fulfills its destiny to be a great nation
