Nigeria Will Keep Faith With Western Sahara’ Self-determination Bid – Buhari

BEVERLY HILLS, March 11, (THEWILL) – President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday assured that Nigeria will stand with the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, SADR, in line with several resolutions of the African Union, AU, on the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence.

The President stated this in Abuja while receiving the Minister of Foreign Affairs of SADR, Mohammed Salem Ould Salek, who visited him at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa as Special Envoy of President Mohammed Abdelaziz of SADR.

Pledging that outstanding issues on self-determination for the country would be scrupulously attended to, Buhari noted that: “the issue first came up when I was in office as military head of state. After I left government, Nigeria remained steadfast on it.

“In my maiden outing at the UN General Assembly last September, the issue of Sahrawi was in my speech. You have no cause to doubt our commitment. We stand with our African Union colleagues on this issue.

“Nigeria will maintain focus till everything is finally resolved positively,” he told Salek.

The Special Envoy said his country would never forget the role Nigeria and its then military head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari played in recognizing his country in 1984, when it sought self-determination from Morocco.

“It paved the way for the UN to adopt several key resolutions on Western Sahara, elaborating a peace plan. History is now repeating itself, as you are the President of Nigeria at a time the Sahrawi issue is being put on the front burner again.''

Salek told the President that his country needed a special push from Nigeria again, as it received in 1984, “to accelerate matters”.

He stressed that Nigeria helped a lot of African countries achieve independence, noting that SADR is the only pending matter on the continent.

A statement issued by Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, which disclosed this, reports that the SADR had, since its inception, been recognised by over 80 countries around the world, and in 1984 it became a full member of the OAU and is a founding member of the AU.