Muhammadu Buhari vows to consolidate Nigeria's unity

President Muhammadu Buhari made his first official visit to Lagos on Thursday since coming to power in 2015.

During the visit, the head of State went ahead to inaugurate a vast public transport station. The state government declared Thursday a work-free day for civil servants to allow them to welcome the 75-year-old leader. Buhari used the occasion to call on Nigerians to preserve their unity despite the diversity.

“Our goal is to bring together all sections of the nation and all Nigerians of every creed, region and ethnic group into a mutually beneficial productive, social, economic and political relationship,” Muhammadu Buhari said.

The visit comes less than a year to the presidential election scheduled for February 2019. Muhammadu Buhari is still to make his intentions clear about a possible second term.

Nigeria, a major oil producing country in Africa went through an economic recession last year aggravated by the fall in oil prices. The head of state suggested the way forward.

“We seek to replace corruption with correctness, insecurity with safety and poverty with prosperity. The road we thread is rough and hard in spots; the search for progress and reforms has its rough patches,” he added.

President Buhari was widely criticized – even by his own party – for his passivity and the rigidity of his economic policies which allegedly discouraged foreign investors.

His popularity within the ruling APC will be tested during party primaries expected to hold later this year.