The British Prime Minister, Theresa May, has described Nigeria as a major political and economic power in Africa which shares mutual interests with Britain. Mrs. May stated this in Abuja on Wednesday at the start of her three-day trip across Africa. She assured President Muhammadu Buhari that her administration would always work towards protecting the best interests of Nigeria and its teeming population.
The British leader said her government had continued to watch with keen interest how the Buhari administration was working doggedly to diversify the Nigerian economy away from petroleum resources and pull the country out of its dire economic straits. Mrs. May pledged that Britain would continue to do whatever is necessary to assist Nigeria to sustain its democratic experience and economic ventures.
Responding, President Buhari remarked that the visit of the British Prime Minister to Nigeria marked a water-shed in the historic relations between Britain and his country. He told Mrs. May that the trade links between the two countries were getting stronger and pleaded with the Prime Minister to use her good offices to allow more Nigerian products that had already passed the specifications of the European Union, EU, to enter the country.
President Buhari particularly mentioned agricultural products which he described as his administration’s strong points in the international market and urged Britain to widen its scope of import of Nigerian foods. The British leader described her brief stay in Nigeria as highly rewarding and jokingly said she was handing the baton to the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, due to arrive Abuja on Friday (today).
