President Muhammadu Buhari
The Presidency on Wednesday faulted reports in some national dailies that credited a statement to President Muhammadu Buhari that he was too old to rule Nigeria, it said Buhari did not say so.
The reaction was contained in a statement issued by the Special Assistant to the president on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
The Presidency on Wednesday faulted reports in some national dailies that credited a statement to President Muhammadu Buhari that he was too old to rule Nigeria, it said Buhari did not say so.
The reaction was contained in a statement issued by the Special Assistant to the president on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
According to the statement "On Monday evening, President Muhammadu Buhari spoke with the Nigerian community at the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa.
"Speaking extempore, because according to him, he wanted to "speak from the heart," the President urged them to be good ambassadors of Nigeria, a country he went to the warfront to keep together.
"Still extolling the virtues of our country, Nigeria, the President, who had served as a military governor of the then North-Eastern State at 33 years old, declared:"I wish I became Head of State when I was a governor. Now at 72, there is a limit to what I can do."
It said the comments had been reported by some newspapers to mean that the president was saying he was too old to cope with the demands of his office, adding "far from it."
As the saying goes, the statement stressed "old wines are tasty" and the President Buhari we have today is a man, like old wine, that has got tastier."
At 72, the statement noted that though the president could not be called a youth, but has in quantum the wisdom, the patience, temperance and forbearance that age brings.
It stressed that all these virtues, Buhari he had brought to the Presidency with a view to making a difference "in our national life."
It noted that Buhari assured the Nigerian community in South Africa that his administration would make a positive impact on the country, and as such will keep the promise.
"Insecurity as symbolized by insurgency will be brought to an end, corruption will be fought to a standstill, employment will be created for the teeming army of unemployed, the economy will be revived, and the quality of life of Nigerians will take an upward swing again.
"These will not come by a sudden flight, but they will happen in the life of this administration.
