PM May to Buhari: We won’t withhold Nigeria’s looted assets

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured the UK Prime Minister Theresa May of his commitment to free, fair and credible elections in 2019.
In a bilateral meeting with the visiting PM yesterday in Abuja, the President welcomed UK’s support at strengthening democratic institutions in the country.
This is coming as the visiting PM assured her Nigerian counterpart that her country would not hold on to illicit Nigerian wealth domiciled in the UK.
She, however, said that the UK would follow the normal judicial process in releasing those assets to Nigeria.
These were some of the major highlights of a bilateral meeting held by the two leaders in Abuja.
Buhari’s assurance on polls Receiving the PM in audience, President Buhari said: “I assure you that I’m all out for free, fair and credible elections.
I’m very pleased that my party is doing very well.
The High Commissioner will brief you more.
The recent successes in polls in Katsina, Bauchi, and Kogi have boosted our morale greatly.
Nigeria has accepted multiparty democracy and that is putting politicians on their toes, forcing them to work harder.” On the anti-corruption campaign, the President applauded British support to the country, noting that the success of the fight was very important to ordinary people in the country.
“We had great opportunities and resources between 1999 and 2014, due to high oil prices.
But when we came in 2015, oil prices plunged to as low as 37 dollars per barrel.
“What we have been doing since 2015 is to focus on infrastructure development, despite low earnings.
Work is ongoing in roads, rail, power, and many others,” the president told his guest.
On Brexit, President Buhari noted that it provides an opportunity to strengthen the historic ties between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
“We are nervously watching the development about Brexit because we know that the relationship had been on for a long time.
I assure you that I am prepared to strengthen the relationship between our two countries,” he said.
The President also thanked the UK government for the support on security and the fight against insurgency in the North-eastern part of the country, and the improved trade relations between both countries.
“I am very grateful to the British government under you leadership for the help in security, particularly your training team that is in our institution in Kaduna,” he said.
Earlier in her remarks before the bilateral meeting, the Nigerian leader had underscored the need for UK support in reviving Lake Chad, which he described as a means of livelihood for millions of people.
The President told the visiting Prime Minister that Europe and China were already conducting an in-depth study on recharging the Lake through inter-basin transfer from the Central African Republic.
May speaks In her remarks, Prime Minister May, who welcomed the assurance by the Nigerian government on credible elections in 2019, said she was pleased to be in Abuja to continue the “excellent discussions” the two leaders started in London in April, this year, particularly on security, trade, asset recovery and the fight against corruption.
“Security and defence cooperation are very important steps to address Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa,” she said.
On asset recovery, the Prime Minister told the President that “we do not want to hold anything that belongs to Nigerian people, but we follow the judicial process which can be slow.” The Prime Minister also appealed to the President to use his position as ECOWAS Chair to keep the issue of human trafficking on the front burner in the sub-region.
The two leaders later witnessed the signing of two agreements namely; Security and Defence Partnership and Economic Development Forum Agreement by representatives of the two countries