Jonathan assures Bakassi residents of care

By The Rainbow

President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday assured Nigerians still living in the Bakassi Peninsula of his administration’s continuous care, concern and support for their safety and well-being.

President Jonathan dispelled fears that the Federal Government had abandoned Nigerians who remained in the peninsula after its transfer to Cameroon and will allow them to be victimized or maltreated.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, in a statement, said that President Jonathan gave the assurance late Sunday in Yaounde, the Cameroonian capital, during his meeting with the Nigerian Community in that country.

The President expressed the belief that improvement in bilateral relations between the Nigerian and Cameroonian governments, after the judgment of the International Court of Justice on the Bakassi dispute, will also have a positive impact on relations between citizens of both countries.

'When countries disagree, their citizens also tend to disagree. But when they are friends, their citizens also follow the same path,’ the statement quoted President Jonathan as telling the gathering.

Responding to other issues raised at the meeting, President Jonathan said that his administration's hard work and commitment to change had resulted in significant improvements in growth indicators such as a drop to single digit inflation,  stable exchange rates and steady GDP growth.

These achievements, the President noted, will gradually translate into improvements in the country's human development indicators in areas such as health care, education and poverty reduction.

President Jonathan also said that his administration was doing everything possible to rapidly improve the power supply situation in Nigeria, citing the recent ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a new power plant at Zungeru as an example of such ongoing efforts.

The president praised officers and men of the Nigerian armed forces and security agencies for their effectiveness in the ongoing operations to restore full security and normalcy to the three states where a state of emergency was recently declared.