TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari says he shares the pain Nigerians are going through.

The president said this on Saturday while addressing the nation on its 62nd independence day anniversary.

Buhari assured Nigerians that the patience and resilience shown to his administration will not go in vain.

“Fellow Nigerians, I address you today, with a deep sense of gratitude to God and a high level of appreciation to all Nigerians whose tremendous goodwill gave me the opportunity to provide leadership for our great country at one of the trying times in her history,” Buhari said.

“Conscious that today’s address would be my last on an Independence Day as your President; I speak to the millions of Nigerians, who believed in me, propelled and stood by me in my quest to bequeath a country where all citizens have equal opportunities to achieve their lives desires in a peaceful atmosphere.

“I share the pains Nigerians are going through and I assure you that your resilience and patience would not be in vain as this administration continues to reposition as well as strengthen the security agencies to enable them to deal with all forms of security challenges.”

Buhari also asked the Academic Staff Unioin of Universities (ASUU) to call off its ongoing strike.

“I must confess that I am very pained by the recurring disruption to our tertiary education system and I am using this Independence Day celebration to re-iterate my call for the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to return to the classroom while assuring them to deal with their contending issues within the limits of the scarce resources available,” the president said.

“This administration has made appreciable progress in redressing these issues that have been lingering for over eleven years.”

Buhari urged candidates and political parties to avoid hate speeches in their campaigns ahead of the 2023 general election.