OpenLife Nigeria reports that President Muhammadu Buhari who is billed to hand over power tomorrow, May 29 has thanked Nigerians for tolerating him in the past eight years.
He says he is leaving Nigeria better that how he met it.
Buhari emphasized that his administration conquered hunger in the rural areas and accelerated skill acquisitions for young citizens.
“We increased the ability of the poor and rural Nigerians to earn a living, provided more food for millions in our villages and gave our women opportunities to earn a living.
“Young men and women in urban centres were also supported to put their skills into productive use. Our administration also provided an enabling environment for the private sector to engage in businesses for which their return on investments is guaranteed.”
Buhari however apologised to Nigerians for what he called “temporary pains and suffering caused by some of the measures taken by his government.
In a farewell speech to the nation on Sunday morning, Buhari further said, “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 over-all good of the country.”
In the economic front, Buhari maintained that he is leaving the country better than he met it.
Buhari said: “The Nigerian economy has become more resilient due to the various strategies put in place to ensure that our economy remained afloat during cases of global economic downturns.
“You would all recall the supply chain disruptions and economic downturn that the world witnessed between 2020 and 2022 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The deftness of our response to the pandemic still remains a global best practice.
“The private sector proved a strong partner in our drive to build a resilient and sustainable economy as evidenced by the growing number of turn-key projects in various sectors of the economy,” he stated
Buhari was elected Nigeria’s president in 2015, ending the 16-year rule of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.
He was re-elected for a second term in 2019 and will hand over power to Bola Tinubu, president-elect, on May 29.