President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that the participation of citizens in democracy will continue to be encouraged through freedom of speech and robust political discourse,

While receiving letters of credence from ambassadors and high commissioners of six countries on Tuesday in Abuja, Mr Buhari claimed Nigerians have always enjoyed “unfettered” freedom of speech.

“We are not only multi-ethnic and religious but also multi-cultural. We enjoy unfettered freedom of speech and engage in robust political discourses,” the president said.

The High Commissioners of the Republic of India, Gangadharan Balasubramanian; Germany, Annett Gunther and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gerengbo Pascaline, presented their letters to Mr Buhari.

Others that presented their letters of credence at the event were those of Sudan, Mohamed Abdelmannan; State of Palestine, Abdullah Abu Shawesh and The Kingdom of Netherlands, Willem Wouter Plomp.

“The reality is that there is so much that binds us together than the few areas of our divergence,” he said of Nigeria.

“I have no doubts in my mind that you will soon appreciate our uniqueness and indeed resilience as a people, as well as our diversity which constitutes our strength.”

The president urged the diplomats to build on the existing good relations that their predecessors had achieved by being more proactive in engagements.

On the forthcoming 2023 general elections, Mr Buhari said, “I am highly optimistic that we will conduct a good transition process at the end of which a new set of political leaders will freely emerge.

“I want to state again, as I did just a few days ago at the UN General Assembly, that we remain committed to free and fair elections.”

The president called for more collectiveness in tackling some of the challenges faced by nations, including the Ukraine war, noting that the climatic, economic and security concerns could only be solved through shared vision, skills and efforts.

“For us in Nigeria, we continue to make steady progress, despite the daunting challenges of insecurity, in the fight against corruption, diversification of the economy, and our efforts in promoting good governance, amongst other things,” the president stated.

He reassured that at the sub-regional and regional levels, Nigeria would continue to work with other member-states of ECOWAS and other regional blocs.

This, he said, would deal with the problems of terrorism, trans-border crimes, banditry, maritime issues, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, and unconstitutional change of government, to mention some of the sub-regional challenges.

On behalf of the diplomats, the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria assured the president of the full support of their countries, especially as Nigeria counts down to the 2023 elections.

According to him, they will work with the Buhari government and the leader that emerges after the elections.

“While Germany would focus on climatic issues, The Kingdom of Netherlands would be pursuing interests in agriculture and stimulating youths’ capacity in entrepreneurship,” he said. 

(NAN)