Fellow Nigerians: today, the 1st of October 1995, we mark the 35th anniversary of our country's independence. It is a day for sober reflection on the journey we have travelled, the mistakes we have made, and the future we must build together.
This administration has reviewed the reports of the Constitutional Conference and the National Reconciliation Committee. We have decided on a programme of transition to civil rule that will be completed on the 1st of October 1998 — three years from today.
Five political parties will be registered. Elections will be held progressively from the local government level to the presidency. The military shall return to barracks on the agreed date and not a day later. I pledge before God and before the Nigerian people that this transition will not fail.