United States government yesterday pledged its support to the Federal Government in its efforts to curb activities of militant groups in the Niger-Delta region.
US Deputy Secretary of State, Amb.assador John Negroponte, made the pledge at a news conference in Abuja, after a two-day official visit to Nigeria.
The envoy, who was speaking on highlights of his visit, said U.S. supported Nigeria’s efforts to stabilise and improve governance in the region.”I assure both the National Security Adviser and the Defence Minister that the U.S. government would do what it could to help stamp out criminality in the Niger Basin,” Negroponte said, and applauded President Umaru Yar’Adua’s commitment to strengthen the rule of law and fight against corruption.
“We encourage his government to pursue vigorously, electoral reform to correct flaws revealed in the last April’s polls,” he said.
Negroponte said Nigeria was an important friend and strategic partner and pledged US commitment to sustain a robust bilateral partnership.
He expressed sadness over the death of seven Nigerian peace-keepers in Darfur in October, and reaffirmed U.S. continuous commitment to the peace-keeping efforts.
“We agreed on the need to deploy peace-keeping forces to Sudan as soon as possible. We also discussed how Nigeria can contribute to the African Union’s peace-keeping efforts in Somalia,” he said. and expressed optimism over the continued unity of Nigeria, adding that he was confident that Nigeria would move forward and not derail.
Souce: This Day