President Buhari today in Abuja assured the UK Prime
Minister, Theresa May of his commitment to conducting free, fair and credible
elections in 2019. In a bilateral meeting with the visiting Prime Minister, he
welcomed UK's support at strengthening democratic institutions in the country.
‘‘I assure you that I’m all out for free, fair and credible
elections. I’m very pleased that my party is doing very well. The High
Commissioner will brief you more. The recent successes in polls in Katsina,
Bauchi, and Kogi have boosted our morale greatly. Nigeria has accepted
multiparty democracy and that is putting politicians on their toes, forcing them
to work harder,’’ he said.
On the anti-corruption campaign, the President applauded the
British support to the country, noting that the success of the fight was very
important to ordinary people in the country.
"We had great opportunities and resources between 1999
and 2014, due to high oil prices. But when we came in 2015, oil prices plunged
to as low as 37 dollars per barrel. What we have been doing since 2015 is to
focus on infrastructure development, despite low earnings. Work is ongoing in
roads, rail, power, and many others."
On Brexit, President Buhari noted that it provides an
opportunity to strengthen the historic ties between Nigeria and the United
Kingdom.
‘‘We are nervously watching the development about Brexit
because we know that the relationship had been on for a long time. I assure you
that I am prepared to strengthen the relationship between our two countries.’’
The President also thanked the UK government for the support
on security and the fight against insurgency in the North Eastern part of
Nigeria, as well as the improved trade relations between both countries. ‘‘I am
very grateful to the British government under you leadership for the help in
security, particularly your training team that is in our institution in
Kaduna,’’ he said.
In her remarks, Prime Minister May, who welcomed the
assurance by the Nigerian government on credible elections in 2019, said she
was pleased to be in Abuja to continue the ‘‘excellent discussions’’ she
started with President Buhari in London in April, this year, particularly on
security, trade, asset recovery and the fight against corruption.
‘‘Security and defence cooperation are very important steps
to address Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa,’’ May said.
On asset recovery, the Prime Minister told President Buhari:
‘‘we do not want to hold anything that belongs to Nigeria people, but we follow
the judicial process, which can be slow.’’ The Prime Minister appealed to
President Buhari to use his position as ECOWAS Chair to keep the issue of human
trafficking on the front burner in the sub-region.
President Buhari and Prime Minister May also witnessed the
signing of two agreements: Security and Defence Partnership and Economic
Development Forum Agreement
