President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Abu Dhabi urged telecommunication
companies operating in Nigeria not to place their desire for huge profits
above the security needs of the country.
Speaking at an interactive forum with members of the Nigerian Community in
Abu Dhabi, President Buhari said that the war against terrorism can only
be won with collective effort and a commitment by all stakeholders to work
in unison to halt the scourge.
Remarking that the registration of all mobile phone users without
exception will help the security agencies to pre-empt terrorist attacks,
the President said that telecommunication companies operating in Nigeria
must adhere to the rules and guidelines of the Nigerian Communications
Commission in this regard.
President Buhari assured the gathering that his administration will deal
decisively with the seeming resurgence of oil theft, vandalisation of
pipelines and insecurity in the Niger Delta.
Declaring that the Nigerian Armed Forces had already dealt “deadly blows”
on Boko Haram, the President said that the activities of oil thieves and
vandals will soon be brought to an end.
“The oil thieves and abductors are a less problematic target. We will
re-organise and deal with them,” he said.
ýPresident Buhari assured Nigerians at the interactive session that his
administration’s war against corruption will continue to be vigorously
pursued.
The President pledged that more persons who have abused the public trust
will 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.
ýThe President appealed for more patience and understanding from Nigerians
as his administration takes steps to safeguard the economy from the shock
of falling oil prices.
“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.