Source: The Nation
THE United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations Samantha Power has said the rescue of the Chibok girls remains a priority.
She spoke with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Ms Power said the U.S. in recent months have been able to give additional information sharing platforms and additional surveillance to aid the fight against Boko Haram.
She said: “The issue of the Chibok girls and other adaptations is of huge priority to the U.S. And it was the issue I discussed at length with President Buhari today .
“We had moved to provide the information and intelligence needed to the Nigerian authorities. We have in recent months been able to allocate additional information sharing platforms and additional surveillance to aid the fight against Boko Haram .
“We will not rest. We will continue to deepen our partnership and be more effective with out partners on the ground. We are determined to support Nigeria and other neighbouring countries to secure more rescues of adopted people and releases in the days and weeks ahead .
On recent video released by the insurgents, she said: “What we talked about was the importance of pursuing every need related to the Chibok girls and making sure we have mechanism whereby parents and family, who have been adopted by Boko Haram can be given information whereby videos can be examined and relations offer feedbacks on their impression on the videos to have a process by which family of those who are missing work more constructively with the government and indeed with those involved in the operations in trying to rescue the girls.
“So, that was the nature of our discussion with the President. The recent video was one part of our discussion and the larger puzzle that will need to be assembled.”
Power led a 42-member high-power delegation from President Barack Obama to Nigeria in support of the three priority areas of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
She said the three areas; security, economy and governance remain the focus of the delegation’s visit to Nigeria.
The head of the delegation at a joint press conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said Nigeria was a strategic partner to the U.S. not only in Africa but globally.
“As you (Onyeama) indicated, Obama has sent me and members of his cabinet to lead an inter-agency delegation to Nigeria,” she said.
Power said the delegation would reflect on the three pillars of the administration; security, economy and governance.
She explained that the partnership would bear fruits to include other aspects of our partnership.
“It will include dealing with Boko Haram, trade, economic development, strengthening institutions and the fight against corruption.
“These are intrinsically central for the people of Nigeria, who want to live in a secured environment and dignity and have maximum opportunity”.
According to her, the other aspects the visit covers include focus on critical areas for dealing with the emergency situation, caused by the Boko Haram insurgency.
She also said the Nigeria-U.S. Bi-National Commission meeting in Washington in March, had started yielding results.
“It’s been a fruitful dialogue and I think there is a lot of homework that has come out of it.
“And there are a number of issues which I look forward to discussing with you; that’s how we move forward in stronger ways,” she said.
Power hailed Nigeria’s contributions to regional and global peace, especially in its effort at the UN Security Council.
”I’ve had the privilege of serving in 2014-2014 with Nigeria on the UN Security Council when you held one of the non-permanent seats.
“I can tell you how important our relationship was on the Security Council, how much constructive work we did. You had a tremendous team in New York and I continue to work with them everyday.
”When U.S. and Nigeria stand together, whether it’s here or in an organisation, such as the UN, as I said earlier, the sky is the limit,” she said.
Among the 42-member delegation include Obama’s principal deputy assistant secretary for African Affairs and the Deputy Commander of the U.S. African Command (AFRICOM).