President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday urged telecommunication companies operating in Nigeria not to place their desire for huge profits above the security needs of the country.
Speaking at an interactive forum with members of the Nigerian Community in Abu Dhabi, the President said the war against terrorism can only be won with collective effort and a commitment by all stakeholders to work in unison to halt the scourge.
He said the registration of all mobile phone users without exception would help the security agencies to pre-empt terrorist attacks, adding that telecommunication companies must adhere to the rules and guidelines of the Nigerian Communications Commission.
The President assured that the present administration would deal decisively with the seeming resurgence of oil theft, vandalisation of pipelines and insecurity in the Niger Delta region.
Declaring that the Nigerian Armed Forces had already dealt “deadly blows” on Boko Haram, the President said that the activities of oil thieves and vandals will soon be brought to an end.
“The oil thieves and abductors are a less problematic target. We will re-organise and deal with them,” he said.
The President also assured Nigerians at the interactive session that the present administration’s war against corruption would continue to be vigorously pursued, saying that more persons who have abused the public trust would be exposed and brought to justice soon.
He said the federal government was committed to re-establishing former standards of accountability and probity in the management of public funds which were jettisoned under past administrations.
The President appealed for more patience and understanding from Nigerians as government takes steps to safeguard the economy from the shock of falling oil prices.
“In the face of our new economic reality of dwindling oil prices, there are a number of things we can really do without to preserve our economy. We must develop the capacity to feed ourselves and we should be spending our resources on real development projects, not luxuries,” he said.
