■Says Edo primaries gives new hope
FROM JULIANA TAIWO-OBALONYE, ABUJA
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has pleaded with the Niger Delta militants who have renewed hostilities in the region to give peace a chance and sheath their swords.
This is even as he commended the successful conduct of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary in Edo State, saying it gave him a new hope.
Buhari who hosted the party chieftains to breaking of fast dinner at the Presidential Villa, said it was disturbing the kind of high tech equipment being deployed to destroy oil installations, saying the development was causing him great agony.
He said their using sophisticated weapons to destroy oil installations even from high sea and international waters, showed that the country was faced with a national problem.
The President pleaded with party leaders and others from the region who have friends among the militants to plead with them to stop because they were stalling development and driving away investors.
He said, “For those of you who have friends either among the leadership or among the militants themselves, please beg them in the name of God Almighty to take it easy. We need to stabilise the economy to create employment”.
He said while no insurance company would be willing to insure installations that could later be blown up, banks too would not agree to finance such installations. The president admitted that the nation was facing tough times economically and security wise. He said he agonised over the situation in the country every time. “We are in a very difficult time. It is particularly bad. We have to organise our constituencies and ourselves. Tell them we are all in this together,” he said. Buhari also promised that his administration would ensure that votes count in the forthcoming governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states. He said he would ensure that Nigerians resident in the states are happy that their votes count at the end of the elections.
While congratulating the party leadership on the success of the APC governorship primary in Edo State, the president said the exercise gave him hope. He said the success was no mean achievement coming after the ugly incident in Rivers State, where people were killed and maimed. Earlier, the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, told the president that the party was pleased with what he has accomplished so far and the strong leadership he had given the country.