Leadership / Nigeria: President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday lamented that bombing of oil and gas pipelines by the Niger Delta militants was affecting the country’s national development plan.
Accordingly, he appealed to the militants to sheath their swords, as no insurance company will want to insure installations that will end up being blown up.
Speaking at the breaking-of-fast dinner with chieftains of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Buhari said the country was undergoing a difficult period at the moment, even as he stressed the need for organisation to create jobs and stimulate the economy.
He said, “I honestly don’t know how many factions the militants are in the Niger Delta compared to the North- east, where you have the Boko Haram? The technology being deployed by the militants to destroy oil installations is high tech, the way they can go on high sea and international waters and target oil installations is a national problem. It is affecting development.
“No insurance company will want to insure installations that will end up being blown up and no banks will want to finance such installations. Those of you who have friends among the leadership or even the militants themselves should plead with them in the name of God Almighty to take it easy. We need to stablise to create employment, we need to stabilise the economy. I agonise over these things.
“We are in a very difficult time, so we have to organise ourselves. Anybody that says he has any other country than Nigeria should go out and see.”
President Buhari also said the successful conduct of the APC primaries in some states has gaven him a new hope.
“We are going to watch Ondo very closely we have to ensure that the vote of the people count”, he stated.
Speaking 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.
While admitting that the nation was going through though and difficult times with multitude of challenges, Odigie-Oyegun said change does not come cheap or easily.
He said, “Any meaningful development requires strong and determined leader. Things must change. Those things don’t come easily. Nigeria is clearly a difficult nation to govern.”
Party leaders who attended the event included former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Ghali Naaba; the party’s Deputy National Chairman (South), Segun Oni and former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva, among others.
