Buhari: We Won’t Use Force Against N’Delta Militants, Unless…

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that government will not resort to the use of force to stop the militancy in the Niger Delta, except it is forced to do so.

A statement issued in Abuja on Tiesday by his media aide, Mr. Femi Adesina, said Buhari made the promise when he received the United States Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, at the State House, Abuja.

Buhari said though militancy in the Niger Delta had impacted negatively on the economy and affected the positive intentions of international and local investors, government was showing restraint not to use real force, “except when constrained to do so”.

The president also pledged to make sure that the anti-corruption crusade outlives him.
Buhari said that war against corruption would be deepened and institutionalised to last beyond the life of the current administration.

He said: “We will insist on the standards we’re establishing. We are laying down administrative and financial instructions in the public service that must be obeyed. Any breach will no longer be acceptable.

“We will retrain our staff, so that they understand the new orientation. And those who run foul of these rules will be prosecuted no matter who is involved. But we will be fair, just and act according to the rule of law.
“Anyone accused of corruption is innocent till we can prove it. We will work very hard to establish documentation for successful prosecution, and those in positions of trust will sit up.”

Buhari expressed his gratitude to the U.S. for the role it played before the 2015 polls, saying: “America did not do it because of what it stands to benefit from us. You did it for the Nigerian people. It says so much of what the U.S. stands for in the world.”

On the Boko Haram insurgency, Buhari thanked the U.S. for both hard and soft military assistance.
He said: “The training and intelligence that we could not muster ourselves, we received. The training has made Boko Haram less of a threat to Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin region, while the military hardware has given our troops added confidence.”

On the economy, the president assured Kerry that the focus of his administration was on the diversification of the economy “having learnt our lessons from years of over dependence on oil”.

source: thisdaylive