Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has called for more collaboration between Nigeria and the United States to effectively tackle the spread of terrorism, especially in the Sahel region.
Prof. Osinbajo was speaking on Thursday when he received at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, a US delegation that included the visiting Under Secretary for Political Affairs, US State Department, Victoria Nuland, and the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard.
Among issues of mutual interest discussed at the meeting were the significance of a free, fair and peaceful elections, improving security in the Sahel region, and the adoption of gas as a transition fuel in developing countries.
Highlighting the need for a more comprehensive approach towards tackling terrorism in the region and Sahel, the VP noted that the spread of terrorist organisations such as ISWAP and Boko Haram should be tackled ‘firmly and permanently.’
Commending the US government for providing support to Nigeria in its fight against Boko Haram and terrorism – with the delivery of the first batch of Super Tucano jets and proposed purchase of 12 AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopters to Nigeria, the Vice President stated that the cooperation between the two countries have been “extremely fruitful and rewarding, especially for us.”
Spokesman for the vice president, Laolu Akande, who issued a release on the meeting said that Professor Osinbajo also noted the commitment of the Nigerian government in tackling the country’s security challenges and ensuring free, fair and peaceful elections in the country.
“So far, we have seen peaceful elections in the primaries… and as we go along, we will get a firmer grip of the security issues; we must thank you for the cooperation of the American government, that we see so far,” he said.
Akande said the vice president restated the need to designate gas as a transition fuel in the global net-zero emissions target by 2060, and pointed out the importance of climate financing in helping African countries tackle the effects of climate change and poverty.
“We cannot afford at this point to de-fund gas projects in developing countries, especially countries such as ours where we have huge hydrocarbon and gas deposits, and made a way for us to transit, and at the same time address poverty and other challenges. This is an area I think we can also work jointly and collaboratively in seeking solutions.”
In her remarks, the US Under-Secretary for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, acknowledged Nigeria’s advocacy for the use of gas as a transition fuel.
“You are absolutely right about gas; I’ve worked a lot on the response to Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Europeans now understand as they try to cut their dependence on Moscow that they need alternative democratic sources of gas and they are waking up to the fact that Nigeria and others countries can fill that gap needed,” Nuland stated.
She also commended the Vice President “for his role in the country’s economic development of the country and the green transition.
“I also want to underscore your role in the economic development of the country and the green transition.
“And I hope you will give us a sense of the work that you are undertaking now as you strengthen Nigeria’s future obviously through a gas transition to a solar and other green superpower on this continent and beyond.”
Underscoring the important bilateral relations between the US and Nigeria, Nuland further said it was “crucial that Nigeria’s democracy continue to prosper and grow.
“We have been talking a lot about the upcoming elections and President Buhari’s very important and courageous decision to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power. And we very much look forward from the United States to supporting free, fair and peaceful elections.
“We have to commend the fact that the Government and the President have been sending the message that this needs to be a free and fair elections, one that heals and binds the country and one that is safe and secure.”
Nuland, also noted that the US was also very proud of its work with Nigeria in tackling COVID-19 pandemic (the US government provided millions of doses of vaccines to Nigeria).
Other members of the US delegation included the Deputy Assistant Secretary for West African Affairs, Mike Gonzales; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence, Archie Barrett.
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