In my final official act as our great and endowed country's democratically elected leader, I address you today with a profound sense of thanks to God, a great deal of admiration for the Nigerian people, and a tiny sense of fulfillment.
Today, as part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen and sustain Nigeria's democracy, we commemorate and celebrate yet another peaceful transfer of power from one duly elected government to another.
Since the founding of the Republic, this year's presidential elections have been the most hotly contested. This shows how our democracy is improving and solidifying with each election.
In order for Nigeria to earn its proper place among nations, we as a nation must incrementally improve and maintain the advances we make in the election process.
Our democratic system allows for, supports, and encourages the pursuit of redress for perceived wrongs, allowing certain candidates and political parties that disagreed with the outcome to file legal complaints.
Regardless of how the various cases turn out, I implore all parties to respect the court's ruling and work together to improve Nigeria.
I applaud the tenacity and fortitude of all the presidential candidates and their political parties for placing their trust in our judicial system and bringing legal challenges against the election results.
We had debated and disputed during the campaigns about how to improve Nigeria, but we never disagreed or doubted that Nigeria needed to improve.
As your president, I implore each of us to use our unique strengths, our unity's strength, and our convictions' convictions to improve Nigeria's functioning as a whole with one spirit and one mission.
I congratulate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, my brother, friend, and coworker in the political arena for the past 10 years, on realizing his aim of elevating Nigeria to the status of one of the world's major powers.
God has rewarded your efforts because you have certainly worked hard for today.
I have no doubt that as you lead our nation to levels higher than I am leaving, your passion for excellence, reliance on competence, fairness in relationships, commitment to equity, loyalty to the country, and desire for Nigeria to be globally relevant would come through for you, with the help of God.
Among all the contenders, you are the best choice, and Nigerians made a wise decision.
My desire and dedication to see a Nigeria where public goods and services are accessible inside a single, safe nation has been an amazing experience during the past eight years.
My fellow Nigerians, I began this trip with a lot of hope and anticipation from you because of your overwhelmingly strong support for me and my political party. I never set out to just be politically correct; rather, I wanted to act in a way that would positively affect the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
This lofty hope was well-founded because, like the average Nigerian, I had grown weary of seeing the nation veer off the right course.
I'm leaving behind an electoral system that ensures votes count, results are credible, elections are fair and transparent, and the impact of money in politics is minimized in order to ensure that our democracy is durable and that our elected officials continue to be answerable to the people.