President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has told visiting United States<\/p>\n
Secretary of State, John Kerry, that he is deeply committed to ensuring a
\nfree and fair elections in the February General elections.<\/p>\n
Jonathan also sought for corporation and support from the U.S for the
\nmulti-national forces fighting the Boko Haram terrorist group, saying,
\n“Winning the fight against Boko Haram in Nigeria and West Africa is
\nabsolutely essential to beat back the tide of religious extremism around
\nthe world.”<\/p>\n
Below is the statement by President Jonathan to the U.S Secretary of State:<\/p>\n
Statement by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Regarding Meeting With U.S.
\nSecretary of State John F. Kerry<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It was a pleasure to welcome Secretary John Kerry to Nigeria. We had a
\ncandid and constructive discussion about a broad range of issues.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nigeria is a vibrant democracy and the largest trading partner of the
\nUnited States in Africa, with more than $18 billion in bilateral trade.
\nOur countries and peoples share a mutual admiration for each other and a
\ndeep commitment to freedom, democracy, and human rights.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This is why we are together engaged in a struggle against a common enemy
\nthat promotes terror, fear, division, and violates human rights, most
\nespecially of women and girls, with complete impunity. Winning the fight
\nagainst Boko Haram in Nigeria and West Africa is absolutely essential to
\nbeat back the tide of religious extremism around the world.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Our security forces have been working tirelessly and courageously to
\nachieve this goal. I reaffirmed for Secretary Kerry that Nigeria is
\nstrongly committed to building the multinational task force to fight Boko
\nHaram in partnership with Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin Republic under
\nthe auspices of the Lake Chad Basin Commission. Indeed, I called publicly
\nfor such a regional approach at the African leaders summit in Paris in May
\n2014 and more recently in multilateral meetings.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We are pleased that the international community is now strongly united
\nbehind this initiative and agree that its success is critical. It is
\nequally important that the multinational force receives the significant
\nsupport that is required to address the threat through our global
\npartners.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The United States, more than any other country in the world, has the most
\nexperience fighting armed insurgencies. And having suffered the
\ndevastating attacks of 9\/11, its people also understand the insecurity and
\nfear that is the reality for the vast majority of peaceful, tolerant
\nMuslims and Christians in North Eastern Nigeria.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This is why I firmly believe that enhancing and expanding various channels
\nof cooperation between our two countries, in the context of growing
\ninternational coordination, are of the utmost importance. I discussed a
\nnumber of ideas with Secretary Kerry to move such cooperation forward.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We are grateful to the United States for standing with Nigeria and its
\npeople in our fight against Boko Haram. I reaffirmed our strong
\ncommitment to working together with the United States to put an end to
\nglobal terrorism and particularly Boko Haram. Nigeria will also work to
\ndeepen and consolidate our bilateral relationship with the United States.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I emphasized to Secretary Kerry that I am deeply committed to ensuring
\nthat our forthcoming election is free, fair, and credible. It is
\nespecially critical that all political parties abide by the Abuja Accord,
\nwhich commits each to non-violence before, during, and after the election.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I made it absolutely clear that the May 29th handover date is sacrosanct.
\nIn addition, the Government will provide all resources that are required
\nby the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that the
\nelection goes smoothly. I also emphasized that INEC is an independent
\nbody, which makes its own decisions without any interference from the
\nGovernment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR<\/p>\n
President<\/p>\n
Federal Republic of Nigeria<\/p>\n
January 25, 2015<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has told visiting United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, that he is deeply committed to ensuring a free and fair elections in the February General…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n