President Muhammadu Buhari has asked with Nigerians who he must have offended in the course of his duty to forgive him 38 days before he leaves office.
The President also thanked Nigerians for tolerating him over the last eight years as he led the country’s affairs.
He addressed on Friday at the Presidential Villa’s Banquet Hall in Abuja, during his final Sallah homage by Federal Capital Territory (FCT) people led by FCT Minister Mohammed Bello.
Buhari praised democracy as the best form of administration, claiming that he could not have become president after previously serving as military Head of State without it.
He stated that he saw the Sallah celebration as an excellent opportunity to say goodbye and “thank you for tolerating me for eight years.”
“I am counting the days,” President Buhari added. Democracy is a good thing; otherwise, how can someone from the opposing party serve two terms as president? The distance between my hometown and Niger Republic is eight kilometers.
“I think this is a very good coincidence for me to say goodbye to you and to thank you for tolerating me for more than seven and half years now.
“I assure you, I have deliberately arranged to be as far away from you as possible not because I don’t appreciate the love you’ve shown to me, but because I think I’ve gotten what I have asked and I would rather quietly retire to my hometown.
“Having been a governor, minister and the president twice, I think God has given me an incredible opportunity to serve as your president. And I thank God for that.
“So, please, whoever feels I have done wrong to them, we are all humans. There is no doubt I hurt some people and I wish you will pardon me. And those that think that I have hurt them so much, please, pardon me.”
He promised the people that nothing would derail the May 29 transition to the next administration.
Earlier, the President had joined other Muslim faithful in performing the Eid el-Fitr prayer on the parade ground of the Mambilla Barracks.
