THREE days after an expatriate oil worker was killed in the Niger-Delta, President Olusegun Obasanjo has assured the international community and Nigerians that the Federal Government would not abandon the restive region to bandits. Government, he assured, will continue to ensure that the lives of people in the area are protected.
Receiving the new Italian amabassador to Nigeria, Mr. Massimo Baistrocchi, one of the three new ambassadors to Nigeria, who presented their credentials at State House, yesterday President Obasanjo said his government would ensure peace and security in all parts of the country.
�We will do as much as possible to save lives, but we will not abandon the area to bandits� the President noted. He said his administration had used a combination of �carrot and stick� to address issues in the Niger Delta, but added that it would not tolerate lawlessness.
The President also assured the Italian ambassador that the reforms had been accepted enough by majority of Nigerians, and was entrenched through legislation to continue after May, 2007.
�After initial protests due to the inevitable pains, Nigerians have realised the benefits of the reforms and we have put in place human structures to continue, while legislation has been provided to keep the reforms going�, he stated.
In his speech earlier, the new Italian ambassador had expressed concern about the situation in Niger Delta, where an Italian national was injured, and the prospects for the administration�s national reforms after May, 2007.
President Obasanjo had at separate ceremonies told the new ambassadors of Iran and Cuba, Mr. Khosro Rezazadeh and Mr. Elio Savon Oliva to do their best to improve economic relations with Nigeria during their tenures.