Buhari condemns, vows to deal with sponsors of political violence In Rivers

By; Sunday Ode, Abuja.
President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Malabo condemned recent political violence in Rivers State, saying that killing of people on account of political differences was primitive, barbaric and unacceptable.
“We will deal decisively with all sponsors of violence. I have given the security services clear directives in this regard.
“We will show that violence in any form will no longer be tolerated before, during or after elections,” the President said at an interactive meeting with Nigerians resident in Equatorial Guinea.
In an e-mailed statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari was also quoted to have said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would be encouraged to explore the possibility of Nigerians abroad voting in the 2019 general elections.
Noting that some African countries had  started allowing their citizens resident abroad to vote in national elections, the President said that he fully indentified with the desire of Nigerians in the diaspora to vote in national elections, the statement said.
It added that President Buhari pledged that he would therefore do all within his powers to fulfil that desire.
“I want all Nigerians to know that I respect them and their right to choose their leaders,” he said
The President was also quoted as also saying  that establishing  a new national airline was not currently on the Federal Government’s list of priorities.
President Buhari was said to have declared that his administration’s main area of focus at the moment was to reduce the level of poverty in the country.
According to the statement, Buhari said that developing the infrastructure needed to boost production in all sectors of the economy and creating more jobs for young Nigerians, as well as other actions that would directly improve the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians would continue to be prioritized by his administration.
It noted that President Buhari was responding to complaints by members of the Nigerian community about the absence of direct flights between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea.
The President, the statement said, assured them that his administration’s war against corruption will remain “fearless, relentless and merciless”.
“We will be merciless and relentless in pursuing all those who abused public trust. Nigerians will see how some of the elite conspired to run the nation down,” he said.