[Mhiz Rebecca]

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his administration
remains committed to realising the key priorities of securing the
country, fighting corruption, and salvaging the economy in spite of
current challenges.
The president stated this when he received the Letter of Credence of
the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr William Stuart
Symington, at the State House, Abuja.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and
Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina on Thursday, Buhari said the security
situation in the North East had improved significantly.
According to him, this followed support in training of the military
and supply of hardware after the G-7 meeting in Germany in 2015.
“When I was invited to the G-7 meeting after my inauguration on
May 29, 2015, I thought I was going to be an observer at the
meeting, but without prompting, I was asked to brief the leaders on
the security situation in Nigeria, and I did.
“Since then, we have received support in training and military
hardware, and I hope we have not disappointed,’’ he said.
The President said the target of reversing the ‘‘culture of
corruption’’ in the country had received support from Nigerians,
with many realising the depth of damage done by some previous
administrations from the ongoing investigations and prosecutions.
“The corruption we met at personal and institutional levels was
unbelievable. Corruption was turning into a culture. After we came
in, people started realising the truth.’’
President Buhari told the U. S ambassador that his administration
was still determined to continue investigations and prosecution of
corrupt persons in the country as “Nigeria will either kill corruption
or corruption will kill Nigeria in the long run.’’
He noted that the years of mishandling of the economy at a period
of financial prosperity affected the economy, making it more
challenging to create employment for the youths and improve the
livelihood of many Nigerians.
“It has not been easy for another party to come in and get things
done properly, especially with the new economic reality of 37
dollars per barrel of oil against the 100 dollars for the period, and
there was no savings, no infrastructure on ground,’’ he said.
President Buhari said that the timely intervention of the United
States, with a visit of the Secretary of State John Kerry to Nigeria
before the 2015 elections helped in ensuring peace and stability in
the country.
In his remarks, the U.S ambassador said that the interest in the
well-being of Nigeria was of mutual benefit.
“We do it not only for Nigeria, but for ourselves. We did it because
it was right for us and right for our people,’’ he said.
Symington said he would work hard to further strengthen the
relationship between his country and Nigeria.
He assured that the President-elect Donald Trump would also be
interested in the wellbeing of Nigeria.
President Buhari also received Letter of Credence from the
Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco, Mr. Moha Ouali Tagma,
assuring him of Nigeria’s willingness to improve bilateral relations
between the countries.
The President also met with Senate President Bukola Saraki behind
closed doors.