President Muhammadu Buhari on
Monday held a press conference met with his US counterpart, Donald Trump at the
White House.
Buhari said his meeting with the
U.S. President Donald Trump yielded positive results in economy, security and
anti-corruption.
Trump, however, condemned killing
of Christians in the country, while Buhari commended the U.S. government for its
cooperation with Nigeria in its effort to recover stolen funds.
Here is Buhari’s full speech:
“I have just had excellent
discussions with President Trump and I would like to reiterate my immense
gratitude to you, Mr. President for your kind invitation and the very warm and
generous hospitality extended to me and my delegation since our arrival in the
United States;
2. We greatly appreciate the
importance your administration attaches to a strong relationship with Nigeria.
The United States remains for us a valued friend and strategic partner, whose
support and solidarity over the years has meant a great deal to us. Our
government’s three main priority areas are:
a) Security
b) Anti-corruption and good
governance
c) Economic growth and job
creation
3. We congratulate you, Mr.
President on the statesmanly role you have played in so dramatically
transforming the course of events in the Korean Peninsula to make the
denuclearization of the region a real possibility.
4. On security, please accept our
sincere congratulations on the important role played by the US in the defeat of
ISIS, although some of the remnants have found their way to the Sahel region.
We are very grateful for the strong US support in our fight against terrorism.
We also appreciate very much your agreement to sell twelve Super Tucano A-29
war planes and weapons to Nigeria to effectively fight terrorism.
5. To contain the spate of
insurgency in Nigeria, the Federal government has adopted a multi-sectoral
approach, involving relevant government agencies to address the socio-economic
and political dimensions while the Armed Forces of Nigeria assist the civil
authorities to provide security and maintain law and order.
6. As part of efforts to address
emerging cases of insurgency in the country, the Nigerian Military adopted a
non-kinetic counter terrorism/counter insurgency approach code-named “Operation
safe corridor”, to de-radicalize, re-habilitate, and re-integrate willingly
surrendered Boko-Haram members into the larger society.
7. This programme is currently
embarking on a number of projects including: skill acquisition centers and
integrated farms; comprising poultry, fishpond and greenhouse farming, among
others.
8. A number of international partners,
including the International Organization for Migration have contributed to the
success of Operation Safe Corridor. We will also appreciate whatever support we
could also get from the US.
9. We are extremely grateful for
your government’s support in the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in
the North East of Nigeria, as well as humanitarian assistance to the Internally
Displaced Persons, through agencies such as the United States Agency for
International Development and other international partners.
10. The USA has been to date the
biggest contributor to the humanitarian response and last year gave
approximately 500 million US Dollars in cash and in-kind contributions through
the United Nations and other inter-governmental organizations. These have
mainly supported protection activities, namely health, food assistance and
shelter.
11. We are doing all we can to
secure the release of the remaining abducted schoolgirls from Dapchi and
Chibok. In this context, we will continue to welcome US collaboration in
intelligence gathering, hostage negotiations and information-sharing.
12. The government is taking
necessary steps to promote the peaceful co-existence of herdsmen and farmers,
by focusing on boosting security and enforcing legislation that will guarantee
herders and farmers’ access to land, reducing strife and promoting harmonizing
economic activities.
13. I wish to extend sincere
congratulations to you and your government on the impressive performance of the
US economy under your watch.
14. Our aim is to diversify our
economy by focusing on agriculture and food security; power and infrastructure.
We have cut the importation of rice by about 90% thereby saving a significant
amount of money. We very much welcome increased US investment in the Nigerian
economy, especially in the non-oil sector.
15. Economic relations between
Nigeria and the United States are anchored on three major instruments, namely:
the Bi-National Commission, Trade and Investment Framework Agreement and the
Africa Growth and Opportunity Act.
16. The Bi-National Commission in
particular, comprising bilateral political, economic, developmental and
humanitarian partnership, is a basic economic framework for engagement between
our two countries.
17. Nigeria’s trade volume with
the United States stood at six point zero-seven billion United States Dollars
according to 2016 statistics and comprised four point one-seven-six billion
united States dollars worth of Nigerian exports to the US and one point
eight-nine-four billion United States Dollars US exports to Nigeria. We should
work to increase these figures substantially and to make balance of trade more
even.
18. We thank your government very
much for the cooperation we have received in our effort to recover stolen
funds. Our two governments have put the machinery in place for their respective
Attorneys-General to collaborate in ensuring the return to Nigeria of over five
hundred million United States Dollars ($500) of looted funds siphoned away in
banks around the world.
19. In this connection, we
congratulate the US government on launching a Kleptocracy Asset Recovery
Initiative, which was spearheaded by the US Department of Justice Asset
Forfeiture and Money Laundering. We hope that we can continue to count on your
support in our efforts to recover our money.
20. The Government of Nigeria
remains deeply committed to the principles of human rights as well as the
promotion and protection of people’s freedom, even in the process of fighting
terror. We will ensure that all documented cases of human rights abuses are
investigated and those responsible for violations held accountable for their
actions.
21. In addition, the Executive
Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria inaugurated the
Nigerian Military Human Rights Dialogue in August 2015 to provide the Nigerian
Military and Para-Military with necessary tools to integrate human rights practices
into their code, education systems, field training and disciplinary systems.
22. To this end, the victims of a
criminal law enforcement operation that occurred in 2013 (otherwise known as
Apo-six) were compensated in April this year based on the findings of the
National Human Rights Commission. Two of the police officers responsible were
convicted for culpable homicide arising from the extra-judicial killings.
23. Mr. President, this is the
first time in the history of Nigeria that the Federal Government compensated
the victims of extra-judicial killings. It also provides a sustainable platform
for local and international human rights organizations to constructively engage
the Nigerian security forces on human rights concerns. We also look to share best
practices in this area with the United States.
24. I thank you, Mr. President,
again for hosting us and for your constructive response to our shaped problems.
I hope you make Nigeria the first port of call whenever you visit African
continent.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com