President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday evening admitted that he recently used US President Barack Obama’s words in a speech without giving him the credit. The Nigerian leader expressed regret for the slip, blaming it on an unnamed speech writer and disclosing that he has ordered that “appropriate disciplinary be taken against those responsible” for the sad development.

A statement issued in Abuja by Buhari’s Senior Media Aide Garba Shehu said: “President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered that prompt and appropriate disciplinary action be taken against those responsible for a wrongful insertion in his speech delivered on September 8, 2016 at the launch of the “Change Begins with Me” campaign.

“It was observed that the similarities between a paragraph in President Obama’s 2008 Victory Speech and what President Buhari read in paragraph nine of the sixteen-paragraph address while inaugurating the Campaign on Thursday, September 8, 2016 are too close to be passed as coincidence.

“There was a mistake by an overzealous staff and we regret that this has happened.

“Already, a Deputy Director in the Presidency has accepted responsibility for the insertion of the contentious paragraph.

“This serious oversight will be investigated thoroughly and appropriate sanction meted.

“The Presidency wishes to state in the clearest possible terms that it regrets this unfortunate incident and will ensure that this does not happen again.

“President Buhari urges Nigerians to look beyond this incident and focus on the message of change which the country needs in order to restore our cherished value systems.”

•Photo showsPresident Buhari.