Both presidents commit to war against
terror, corruption
• Nigerian leader says ministers will be
appointed in September
United States President Barack Obama
yesterday, in Washington DC, pledged to
stand with Nigeria in all its endeavours,
including the fight against Boko Haram,
provided it remained on course.
President Muhammadu Buhari is currently
in the U.S. on Obama’s invitation.
Buhari, according to a tweet by Senior
Special Adviser to the President on Media
and Publicity, Femi Adesina, had made a
brief stop to greet an ecstatic crowd of
All Progressives Congress (APC)
supporters, who converged at the Blair
House — United States Presidents’ official
guesthouse — to greet him.
Both leaders discussed areas of
collaboration, especially on fostering unity,
fighting insurgency and corruption, as well
as Nigeria’s expected leadership role in
Africa.
Citing Buhari’s credentials in integrity,
Obama told the Nigerian president:
“Wherever Nigeria goes, Africa goes; the
continent’s destiny is tied to Nigeria’s.”
Obama, who urged five accompanying
governors and others to work with
Buhari, harped on the need for unity saying
that a divided country would hardly
succeed. He, therefore, urged the president
to turn Nigeria’s diversity to source of
strength.
Governors of Edo, Oyo, Imo, Borno and
Nasarawa states and other top
government officials joined Buhari and
Obama for the bilateral talks.
On war against insurgents, the U.S.
president advised that a combination of
military action and socio-economic
programmes would help.
Buhari had, prior to his meeting with
Obama, held a breakfast session with Vice
President Joe Biden, during which they
compared terror-war notes. He is billed to
meet with Secretary of State, John Kerry,
today.
Meanwhile, President Buhari has affirmed
that he would appoint members of his
cabinet not earlier than September.
He also declared that the continued
pressure on the immediate past
administration by the U.S. and some
European countries made the general
elections in Nigeria to be free and fair.
Writing in The Washington Post yesterday,
Buhari, said his discussions with President
Obama would include not only his plans for
critical reforms, but also “why the
formation of my administration is taking
time and, crucially, why it must. Already
there are voices saying these changes are
taking too long – even though only six
weeks have passed since my inauguration.
I hear such calls, but this task cannot and
should not be rushed.
“When cabinet ministers are appointed in
September, it will be some months after I
took the oath of office. It is worth noting
that Obama himself did not have his full
cabinet in place for several months after
first taking office; the United States did
not cease to function in the interim. In
Nigeria’s case, it would neither be prudent
nor serve the interests of sound
government to have made these
appointments immediately on my elevation
to the presidency; instead, Nigeria must
first put new rules of conduct and good
governance in place.
“I cannot stress how important it is to
ensure that this process is carried out
correctly, just as it has been crucial to
first install the correct leadership of the
military and security services before we
fully take the fight to Boko Haram.”
Also, while responding to the welcome
remarks by Obama before the start of the
bilateral meeting between officials of both
countries at the Oval Office of the White
House, on the second day of the visit,
Buhari acknowledged the contributions of
the U.S. and some European Union
members towards the consolidation of
Nigeria’s democracy.
The President, who noted that without the
external pressure, “we would not be where
we are today” in Nigeria, recalled that the
pressure started from the visit of the
United States Secretary of State, John
Kerry to the past Chairman of the
Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega.
“Nigeria will be ever grateful to President
Obama and the United States for making
Nigeria consolidate its gains on
democracy,” the President said.
On his trip to the U.S. the President said
he looked forward to a fruitful visit and
engagement with his host government,
while expressing delight that the United
States government had indicated interest
in partnering and helping the APC-led
administration to bring to fruition its goals
of tackling insecurity, corruption and youth
unemployment.
Sourced from Guardian News
