Buhari vows to deal with pipeline attackers, cautions telecoms providers, asks for patience from Nigerians

Buhari vows to deal with pipeline attackers, cautions telecoms providers, asks for patience from Nigerians

January 19, 2016

Written by:

LEON USIGBE, ABUJA

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to Nigerians to be patient with his government as it bids to reposition the economy from the effects of plummeting oil prices.
He made the appeal while speaking at an interactive forum with members of the Nigerian community in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday.
Buhari assured Nigerians that his administration's war against corruption would continue to be vigorously pursued.
He pledged that more persons who have abused the public trust would be exposed and brought to justice soon, adding that his government was committed to re-establishing former standards of accountability and probity in the management of public funds which were jettisoned under past administrations.
He said: "In the face of our new economic reality of dwindling oil prices, there are a number of things we can really do without to preserve our economy.
 We must develop the capacity to feed ourselves and we should be spending our resources on real development projects, not luxuries," he said.
Buhari also cautioned telecommunication companies operating in the country not to place their desire for huge profits above the security needs of the Nigeria.
The president noted that the registration of all mobile phone users would help the security agencies to pre-empt terrorist attacks, saying telecommunication companies operating in Nigeria must adhere to the rules and guidelines of the Nigerian Communications Commission in this regard.
Buhari assured the gathering that his administration would deal decisively with the seeming resurgence of oil theft, vandalisation of pipelines and insecurity in the Niger Delta.
He reiterated that the Nigerian Armed Forces had already dealt 'deadly blows' on Boko Haram and attention would be on the activities of oil thieves and vandals to bring them to an end soon.
"The oil thieves and abductors are a less problematic target. We will re-organise and deal with them," he said.
He said that the war against terrorism could only be won with collective effort and a commitment by all stakeholders to work in unison to halt the scourge.