President Muhammadu Buhari in a statement signed by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari, said despite the differences among Nigerians, they should do more toward strengthening the unity and economic prosperity of the country.
The president who acknowledged the myriad of challenges facing the nation, said his administration will continue to work hard until issues of insecurity among other issues, are duly addressed.
The statement was made at the Combined Passing Out Parade of the Cadets of 67 Regular Course and Short Service Course 46 (Army) at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna on Saturday.
He said, “Despite our obvious differences, we must strive to ensure that our actions and utterances are aimed towards strengthening our democratic framework.
“We must subsume our personal and sectional interests to the overall national aspirations of unity, economic prosperity and good governance,” he said.
Buhari said the nation was passing through a time of great need for cohesion, peace and unity, commending “the resilience and steadfastness of our personnel in the Armed Forces for their professionalism and bravery in tackling the menace of terrorism, insurgency and armed banditry in the North East and North West zones as well as herders/farmers conflict, kidnapping, piracy and communal clashes in other parts of our country.”
He added, “Let me at this juncture, restate our administration’s will to support the operations of the Armed Forces in the defence of the nation. Just recently, I approved the increment of manpower intake into the 3 services in order to cater for the deficit of personnel being experienced.
“Additionally, the Federal Government will sustain the provision of adequate modern equipment, logistics and infrastructure needed to support the operations of the Armed Forces.
“These no doubt will enhance the preparedness of the Armed Forces to meet contemporary security challenges especially with innovations in the field of warfare, Information, Communication and Technology.”
The president noted that the government remains focused in the fight against insurgency, armed banditry and other forms of criminality across the nation.
“We remain committed to ending the security challenges bedeviling the country. I am confident that the training received by the passing out cadets has adequately equipped them to face any challenges in their line of duty.
“The broad contexts to which these prospective officers will be deployed is complex, fluid and dynamic. Thus, you will have to keep pace with these ever changing challenges."