BUHARI: Nigeria can’t divide, N/Delta will get justice

President Muhammadu Buhari has reassured the people of the Ni­ger Delta that his ad­ministration will address their grievances, especially in the distribution of the country’s resources.
The President, however, faulted the divisive activities of militants in the region as he de­clared that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable.
Buhari spoke on Wednes­day at the Presidential Vil­la when he received the Fed­eral Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Bello Muhammad, who led a delegation of Abuja-based Muslims, Christians and top government officials to the traditional Eid-el-Fitri Sallah homage to the President.

Buhari’s comments came as the militants, who are pressing for more oil revenue and infrastructure for the Niger Delta region, bombed more oil installations in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Before yesterday’s attack in Rivers State, the militants had concentrated their activities in Delta and Bayelsa states.
But on Wednesday, the Ni­ger Delta Avengers (NDA) blew up the Nigerian National Pe­troleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline which connects the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) facility at Eleme.
Buhari said that after record­ing significant improvement in the war against Boko Haram in­surgents, the government was trying to get the leaders of the militant groups to stop their vi­olent agitations as he would en­sure the region gets justice in line with the Nigerian Consti­tution.
He said: “On security, we have made a lot of improvement on Boko Haram issue; militants too, there is improvement. We are now concentrating on the militants to know how many of them in terms of groupings and leadership; and plead with them to give Nigeria a chance.
“I assure them of the saying by former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, that ‘to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done’.
“In those days, we never thought of oil; all we were con­cerned about was one Nigeria. So, please pass this message to the militants that one Nigeria is not negotiable and they had bet­ter accept that.
“The Nigerian Constitution is clear as to what they should get and I assure them there will be justice,” he said.
On his anti-corruption cru­sade, the President said “please tell those with plenty of money which does not belong to them to try and negotiate and return it in peace so that both they and us will be in peace, otherwise, we will continue to look for it”.
The President acknowledged the myriad of socioeconomic problems Nigerians are facing and promised that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will assist about 13 states produce enough rice to feed the country.
In his remarks, Vice Pres­ident Yemi Osinbajo said the problems were compounded by the need for the current govern­ment to do some cleaning up of some issues it inherited from the previous administration.
Muhammed, who presented a giant Sallah card to the Pres­ident, assured him that Abuja residents will continue to sup­port his administration to de­velop Nigeria.
Prominent Nigerians in the minister’s delegation includ­ed the Secretary to the Govern­ment of the Federation (SFG), Babachir Lawal, the CBN Gov­ernor, Godwin Emefiele, Primate of the Church of Nigerian (An­glican Communion), Nicholas Okoh, Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar, the National Se­curity Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, the Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, Dr. Kabir Adam of the Na­tional Mosque, Abuja, and FCT Chairman of the Christian Asso­ciation of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Is­rael Akanji.
In its Facebook page NDav­engers, the NDA, which claimed responsibility for the attack, said that “by 3.00 am, yesterday, Strike Team 2 carried out a ma­jor strike, bombing NNPC pipe­line at Eleme leading to NLNG. You won’t stop us.”
Before the attack, the NDA, about 8.12 pm, posted on its Fa­cebook page: “Another major pipe is about to go up in flames! Brass, LNG, Boom.”
In another development, the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (JNDLF) has threatened to destroy seven flow stations in Bayelsa State.