THE United States of America is not planning to establish a military base at the Gulf of Guinea as a way of protecting American oil interest in the area,theAmerican Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Campbell, has said.
The ambassador also said the government of the United States was interested in and monitoring the coming general elections in Nigeria because of the position of Nigeria in Africa.
The Ambassador was fielding questions from students of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria yeaterday, after delivering a paper entitled �Democracy and the Rule of Law.�
Mr. Campbell said the United States government had no intention of establishing a military base at the Gulf of Guinea or anywhere near the area, adding that the United States had less than 20 marines in Nigeria who were attached mainly to the embassies in both Lagos and Abuja.
He said the marines were part of the United States Defence Attach� in Nigeria.
�The United States of America has a Defence Attach� in Nigeria just as Nigeria has a Defence Attach� in Washington. It is military personnel that are attached to these offices,� he added.
He said it was wrong for anyone to speculate that the American government was planning to establish its military base in the Niger Delta area because of its oil interest and as a way of stopping hostage-taking of foreign nationals.
He said there was one American citizen being held hostage at present, stressing that it was the duty of the Nigerian government to provide security for lives and property in the area.