Don’t lose hope, give me more time – Tinubu tells Nigerians

President Bola Tinubu has asked Nigerians to remain patient with his administration and allow it more time to complete its ongoing reforms and development programmes.

Tinubu made the appeal on Friday at a special Juma’at prayer held at the National Mosque in Abuja as part of activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary.

The President, who was represented by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, said his administration was working to address challenges inherited from previous governments while taking steps to recover lost opportunities.

Abbas, while delivering the President’s message, urged Nigerians to maintain confidence in the country despite the difficulties associated with the reform process.

He said, “This anniversary, the 66th, by all accounts signifies Nigeria has come of age. The person of 66 years cannot be called a child anymore. Nigeria has become mature, even though when we reflect on the journey from independence to date, we may say it was a mixed journey.

“Nigeria was bedevilled with a lot of issues in the past and opportunities as well. But we thank Almighty Allah for granting us the life and the peace for us to witness this very historic event today.”

The President also assured citizens that the country would experience greater peace and development as the government continued with its reform agenda.

According to him, the administration is tackling longstanding national challenges while seeking to reverse the effects of what he described as accumulated mistakes and missed opportunities under successive administrations.

He said, “My message to the country on behalf of the Mr President, the Senate President and all members of the National Assembly is that the citizens should not lose hope.

“Peace is coming back to this country. Development is coming back to this country. Things will get better as we progress in this democracy,” he said.

Tinubu further urged Nigerians to continue supporting the government, insisting that the country was moving in the right direction.

He said, “More importantly, citizens should look at the focus of the government of today, that the mistakes of the past—the cumulative mistakes and the missed opportunities of the past—are being corrected in this particular administration.

“And I want to categorically make it clear that Nigeria is on the right path; that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that Nigerians have finished making sacrifices for this country to be great again.

“We should give this government more opportunity for it to come back and finish the good work.”

The 66th Independence Anniversary is being marked with low-key activities, including religious and civic events scheduled by the Federal Government ahead of the October 1 anniversary.