President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Beijing, China warned vandals and saboteurs blowing up oil and gas installations in Nigeria to desist or face the same drastic action being taken against Boko Haram.
The president gave the warning at a meeting with members of the Nigerian Community in China.
A statement by Buhari’s spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, said Buhari also reaffirmed his total commitment to winning the war against corruption.
He said that corruption was an arch-enemy of the nation which had destroyed the lives of many Nigerians.
“I ask for your support to make our vision of stamping out corruption a reality in the shortest possible time. Whoever is caught will not be spared.
“The government is still being dared, but those who are sensible should have learnt a lesson.
“Those who are mad, let them continue in their madness.
“I am aware that in the last two weeks, the national grid collapsed a number of times. I hope this message will reach the vandals and saboteurs who are blowing up pipelines and installations.
“We will deal with them the way we dealt with Boko Haram,’’ Buhari declared.
The President assured the Nigerian Community that the Federal Government was working very hard to overcome current national challenges and deliver on its promise of a better Nigeria.
“Clearly, our vision of a diversified and inclusive economy will not be achieved overnight. It will be a long, and in some cases, painful journey.
“I am very confident we will get there. But we must start that journey now.
“We hear proposals for short cuts or quick wins. However, all we need to do is look at our history to know that there are no quick wins or short cuts in fixing Nigeria.
“The many decades of damage and destruction cannot be repaired overnight.
“The reform programme we are implementing is not because oil prices are below 45 dollars per barrel today.
“It is because when oil prices were over $100 per barrel, majority of Nigerians were still suffering. They were simply forgotten and left behind,’’ he added.
According to him, his administrations ongoing reforms are to ensure that majority of Nigerians are not left behind.
Buhari also assured the Nigerian community that his administration was fulfilling its promise to improve security across the country.
He recalled that when his administration came into office in 2015, Boko Haram insurgents occupied 14 Local Government Areas.
“Today, I am pleased to say the insurgents have been routed out of these local governments and their capacity to fight as a force has been significantly degraded.
“We will continue working hard to ensure that the group is eliminated. This is achievable. And we will not settle for anything less,’’ he said.
Buhari also pledged that his administration would honour all agreements concluded between Nigeria and China under previous administrations.
He spoke at a meeting with Mr Li Keqiang, the Premier of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China.
The President said Nigeria would honour the agreements so as to ensure speedy completion of outstanding joint projects, including the 4,000 megawatts Mambilla Hydro-Electric Power Project.
Buhari told the Chinese Premier that his administration was committed to the completion, in the shortest possible time, of all joint power, rail, road and aviation projects that would directly and quickly improve the lives of Nigerians.
He said that he was particularly keen in actualising the Mambilla Power Project because of its huge potential to boost employment and national economic growth.
The Chinese Premier commended ongoing efforts by the Buhari administration to improve Nigeria’s infrastructure.
He assured the President that China was ready to work with his administration to complete all joint projects, including the Mambilla Power Project.
