President Muhammadu Buhari, Friday in Abuja appealed to Nigerians who he might have been hurt in the course of his duties to pardon him.
He made the appeal at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja at the ninth and final Sallah homage by residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), led by the minister, Mohammed Bello.
Buhari, who received the delegation after observing the Eid-el-Fitr prayers at the Mambilla Barracks Prayer Ground, Abuja, together with members of his family, thanked Nigerians for tolerating him for close to eight years of his administration.
“I think this is a very good coincidence for me to say goodbye to you and thank you for tolerating me for more than seven and half years now.
“I assure you that I have deliberately arranged to be as far away from you as possible, not because I don’t appreciate the love you have shown to me, but because I think I have gotten what I have asked and I would rather quietly retire to my hometown.
“Having been a governor, minister and president twice, I think God has given us an incredible opportunity to serve as your president. And I thank God for that. So, please, whoever feels I have done wrong, we are all humans. There is no doubt that I have hurt some people, so and I wish you would pardon me. And those who think I have hurt them so much, please pardon me,” he told his guests.”
President Buhari, who said he could not wait to go home after May 29, described himself as being lucky to have led Nigeria in various capacities.
The president, in a statement noted that he decided to retire to Daura, which is far away from Abuja, in order to get some respite after years of work.
“I can’t wait to go to Daura. If they make any noise to disturb me there I will leave for Niger Republic. I deliberately arranged to be as far away as possible. I got what I wanted and will quietly retire to my hometown,” he added.
President Buhari said he accepted all the complaints and criticisms in good faith, knowing it is part of the leadership he prayed and asked from God.
Buhari, who said flaunting ethnic and religious cards in the last elections was “rubbish,” recalled that all presiding Supreme Court justices in all the election cases he took to court were all from the North and Muslims from Zaria in Kaduna State, Niger and Jigawa, yet he lost.
On his plans after leaving office, the president said he felt fulfilled that God made it possible for him to serve two terms of four years each, adding that he looks forward to an orderly handover.
He said his decision to stay away from Abuja was to allow the incoming president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu have the time and space to take decisions.
“I thank God for what he has done for me personally and for what he has enabled us to achieve,” he said.
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