The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

  • Kachikwu re-elected APPO president

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu has been re-elected as the President of African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO) till December 2019 in a move that will allow him to conclude the ongoing reforms and restructuring of the Organisation.

    This marks a historical moment for the Organisation as it is the first time that a country and a minister is allowed to provide its leadership direction, three times within three years in a period of five years.

    The superlative restructuring works that Dr. Kachikwu and Nigeria have orchestrated were unanimously endorsed by all members of the Council of Ministers.

     Deputy Director, Press, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Nigeria, Olujimi Oyetomi, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

    According to the statement, the reelection took place during the 36th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of the APPO which held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea under the high patronage of H.E. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.

    The session had in attendance, APPO Ministers drawn from thirteen member countries: namely, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Niger, and Nigeria.

    In his validation speech, Kachikwu enthused the unalloyed support he has received from the members of the Council while affirming his commitment to making deep and sustained reforms that will not only guide its members to make the best returns in its energy business but also firmly reposition APPO as a global force.

    READ ALSO: NNPC School hike: Buhari, Kachikwu called to intervene

     The statement reads in part: “It would be recalled that the Organisation under the leadership of Kachikwu, recently announced its readiness to mobilize over $2 billion in resources to fund infrastructural collaboration in Africa in an applauded and lofty effort to develop the hydrocarbons sector.

    “This recent reelection will see Kachikwu complete the ongoing reforms that will emplace APPO towards leaving a lasting legacy that will ensure that Africans benefit from the continent’s hydrocarbon resources.”

     He expressed gratitude to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and the host Minister, H.E. Gabriel Obiang Lima for the excellent hospitality shown to the delegation and commended the world-class project execution of the APPO CAPE VII Congress and Exhibition.

  • Mbasogo commends Buhari for fighting insurgency to standstill

    Mbasogo commends Buhari for fighting insurgency to standstill

    The President of Equatorial Guinea, Mr Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, on Tuesday in Abuja, applauded President Muhammadu Buhari’s efforts in checking the activities of Boko Haram sect.

    Mbasogo, who made the commendation when he briefed State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, noted that President Buhari had been doing “a great job’’ in the fight against insurgency within and beyond Nigeria.

    The visiting president, who spoke through an interpreter, noted that President Buhari had so far succeeded in degrading the Boko Haram insurgents.

    According to him, the insurgent group is almost eliminated but for pockets of attacks still being carried out by them.

    “I congratulated my dear brother, President Buhari, for the great work he has been doing in the fight against the terrorist group called Boko Haram and all its implications.

    Read also: Buhari, Equatorial Guinea President meet in Aso Rock

    “It has not been easy and we realize that this sect can actually carry out their scourge all over the sub-region.

    “We know very well that it spread all the way from Chad, Cameroun, Niger and even today we know a lot of havoc had been done in Mali.

    “But we know he has been doing a great job and today we can tell because we all know it that he has almost eradicated the menace of Boko Haram apart from minor, minor scourge of insurgencies that are happening from time to time and in places,’’ he said.

    Mbasogo, who spoke in Spanish, said the meeting also discussed security concerns in the neighbouring West African countries.

    He added that he and Buhari observed the need to work together with a view to securing a common ground for development and cooperation to achieve desired goals.

    The president, who also narrated how his country survived sponsored political unrest orchestrated by some terrorists from Chad and Sudan in collaboration with a group of deviants from France, disclosed that his decision to promptly reach out to Cameroon to put the situation under control.

    On the political crisis in Southern Cameroon that resulted in the influx of refugees into Nigeria, Mbasogo advocated for dialogue as the best solution to the problem.

    According to him, there is no country without its own peculiar crisis, saying it only behoves on the parties concerned to put heads together and embrace dialogue as the platform for solution to the crisis.

    He said: “Cameroon is a big nation whose crisis requires the concern of all forces. There is no nation without its own crisis.

    “What is required is to seek solution through dialogue and use it to find a common axis. Those seeking refuge in other lands need to sit down together and find solution through dialogue. It is only through that, they can find solution to the crisis.’’

    On the challenge of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, Mbasogo who said the pirates were destroying and sabotaging Nigeria’s development effort in the area, expressed the readiness of his country to continue to ensure security in the Gulf of Guinea region.

    NAN

  • Buhari meets Equatorial Guinea’s President in Aso Rock

    Buhari meets Equatorial Guinea’s President in Aso Rock

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met behind closed doors with  his Equatorial Guinea’s counterpart, Mr. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Mbasogo, who arrived the Presidential Villa at 12.30 p.m., was welcomed by  Buhari and other government officials.

    Read also: Presidency outlines Buhari’s achievements

    The Equatorial Guinea’s leader had paid similar visit to  his Nigerian counterpart in  February 2016.

    During the visit, the two  leaders held talks on  bilateral agreements between both countries.

    Buhari had also visited Equatorial Guinea twice since he came to power in May 29, 2015.

    NAN

  • Jonathan begins two-day visit to Equatorial Guinea

    Jonathan begins two-day visit to Equatorial Guinea

    …Uduaghan, Geidam, others on the trip

    President Goodluck Jonathan will on Thursday embark on a two-day state visit to Equatorial Guinea, the Presidency has said.

    A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said the visit was in continuation of Federal Government’s efforts to boost economic and trade relations between Nigeria and neighbouring countries.

    Abati said the president would, in the course of the visit, hold talks in Malabo with President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo on various issues of mutual interest to both countries.

    He said the issues included the enhancement of maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, exploitation of oil and gas resources and the enhancement of developmental cooperation between both countries.

    “It is expected that new agreements on strengthening of economic relations and developmental cooperation between both countries will be concluded and signed before the end of the visit on Friday,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted Abati as saying in the statement.

    The presidential spokesperson also noted that the president would meet with Nigerians resident in Equatorial Guinea before returning to Abuja.

    He said Governors Emmanuel Uduaghan and Ibrahim Geidam of Delta and Yobe States as well as Sen. Ibrahim Gobir and Mr. Cyril Egwuatu would be on the president’s entourage.

    Also on the entourage will be the ministers of petroleum resources, Mrs. Deziani Alison-Madueke, trade and investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, aviation, Princess Stella Oduah and culture and tourism, Dr. Edem Duke.

    The Minister of State for Defence, Mrs. Olusola Obada and the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed, are also on the trip.