Army/Shiites clash: Buhari studying report, assures appropriate response

The Presidency, yesterday, announced that President Muhammadu Buhari has received the report of the judicial inquiry into the clashes between soldiers and members of the Shiite movement in Nigeria, led by Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, and was currently studying it. This came on a day the President revealed that his government had started making efforts to revive the steel industry in Nigeria. According to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the President assured international and local human rights groups of appropriate response in due course after studying the details. He said the President’s commitment to human rights remained unchanged, since it was a cardinal component of the democratic order. Shehu said: “The present administration believes in due process and the rule of law. Therefore, any response to the report would follow this principle.” He said the Federal Government would continue to act in the larger interest of the public to prevent such violent incidents. Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has revealed that his government had started making efforts to revive the steel industry in Nigeria. He also said that the country was ready to get investments from all sectors of the economy to better the lots of the people. The President, who spoke while receiving Executive Members of Association of Africa Automotive Manufacturers, AAAM, led by the chairman, Mr Jeff Nemeth, in Abuja, yesterday, regretted that Nigeria recognized its problems early enough, but remained with potentialities for too long, declaring that it did not achieve much results. In his response, Nemeth said the association comprised potential investors who were ready to unlock investment potentialities on the continent. “We are ready to offer strategic partnership with Nigeria. We want to promote investor-friendly regulatory frameworks and sustainable manufacturing.”