Buhari Cautions On South Sudan Crisis

President Muhammadu Buhari receives first Vice President of South Sudan, Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon (left) at the State House in Abuja. With them is the Minister of State Foreign Affairs, Hajiya Khadija Abba Ibrahim.

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday cautioned against the deterioration of political instability in South Sudan, saying the peace agreement signed by various political factions must not collapse.

Daily Trust report continues:

He spoke at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa at a meeting with South Sudan’s first Vice President, Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon, who came to brief him on the current situation in his country.

Buhari said he and other members of the African Union (AU) High-Level Consultative Committee on South Sudan would do their best to ensure successful implementation of the peace pact.

He said Nigeria and the committee would work with all stakeholders to overcome problems hindering the implementation of the seven-month-old pact.
“The situation must not deteriorate”, President Buhari told Dhurgon, who is a signatory to the pact. He expressed concern that compliance with the ceasefire had not been total.

The president pledged Nigeria’s cooperation with other members of the AU to ensure speedy stabilization of the situation.

Advising leaders of South Sudan not to allow ethnicity and corruption to gain a foothold in their country, Buhari added: “Ethnicity and corruption is a lethal combination. You have to deal with them otherwise instability will continue.”

Buhari also yesterday received a Special envoy of the African Union Chairman, President Idris Deby-Itno, Mr Abubakar Saleh Chahaimi who delivered a message to Buhari on the strengthening of bilateral relations between Nigeria and Chad as well as the work of the African Union Consultative Committee on South Sudan.