President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said one of the toughest decisions he believes the outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari took was the redesignation of June 12 as Democracy Day.
He said Buhari reached back into history to set the record straight and healed a festering wound.
Tinubu, who was conferred with the highest national honour of Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic, GCFR, on Thursday at the banquet hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, vowed not to disappoint Nigerians nor the outgoing President.
His words, “President Buhari, you have shown courage in taking tough decisions others avoided. One such decision was to recognize the injustice of the annulment of the 1993 election, to designate June 12 as Democracy Day, and to bestow the nation’s highest honour on the late MKO Abiola.
“As much as anyone could, you reached back into history to set the record straight and heal a festering wound. The justice you did in this matter lends special meaning to today”.
While thanking the outgoing President for bestowing the nation’s highest honours on him and his Vice President-elect Shettima, Tinubu noted that he “was a simple man who is the beneficiary of the support and goodwill of the people of Nigeria”.
“As such, I stand here renewed not only in hope but also in dedication to our national purpose and destiny.
“I also feel full of pride, but this pride I feel is not for myself. It is for what this moment represents.
“The people have put their trust in us. You have done your part, Mr. President.
“Now, that great duty descends on me. I understand the meaning of the honour given to me today and of the task that awaits.
“On security, the economy, agriculture, jobs, education, health and power and in all other sectors we must make headway. I must run this race and must do it well. The people deserve no less. In this, I shall disappoint neither them nor you, Mr. President,” Tinubu stated emphatically.
While the Federal Government wraps up preparations to inaugurate Tinubu on May 29th, other contestants in the presidential race, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, are in court, where they have filed litigations trying to prove otherwise that they were victorious in the polls.