Thirty-eight days to his exit from office, President Muhammadu Buhari has pleaded with Nigerians whom he must have hurt in the course of his duties to forgive him.
The President also thanked Nigerians for tolerating him in the last eight years while he steered the affairs of the nation.
He spoke on Friday at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, during his final Sallah homage by residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) led by the FCT Minister, Mohammed Bello.
Buhari hailed democracy as the best form of government, saying that without it, he could not have become president after already serving as military Head of State.
He said he considered the Sallah celebration as a good coincidence to say goodbye and to “thank you for tolerating me for eight years.”
President Buhari added, “I am counting the days. Democracy is a good thing otherwise how can somebody from the other side be a president for two terms? My hometown to Niger Republic is eight kilometres.
“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 reassured the nation that nothing would stop the May 29 handover date to the next administration.
The President had earlier joined other Muslim faithful to perform the Eid el-Fitr prayer on the parade ground of the Mambilla Barracks.
Buhari, who arrived on the ground around 9:10 am, was accompanied by some of his family members and personnel aides.
Others at the prayer ground included some members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), security chiefs, heads of paramilitary organisations and government officials.
