South Sudan must not collapse, Buhari warns

President Muhammadu Buhari, Thursday, warned that the lingering crisis in South Sudan must not be allowed to lead to the collapse of the country. 

To actualize the objective, the president has promised to work with some members of the African Union High-Level Consultative Committee on South Sudan to ensure that the peace pact entered into by the various political factions in the country 7 months ago was successfully implemented.

 President Buhari made the pledge while receiving the South Sudan’s First Vice President, Dr Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon who briefed him on the situation in the country at the presidential villa, Abuja He said he would galvanize all relevant stakeholders in the committee to remove the impediments to the implementation of the agreement.

Expressing concern that compliance with the agreed ceasefire in South Sudan has not been total, President Buhari said that Nigeria will work in collaboration with other members of the African Union to achieve a speedy stabilisation of the situation.

The President advised leaders of South Sudan not to allow ethnicity and corruption to gain a foothold in the new country. Incidentally, South Sudan First Vice President was a signatory to the peace agreement.

 “The situation must not deteriorate. Ethnicity and corruption are a lethal combination. You have to deal with them otherwise instability will continue,” On a similar note, President Buhari also received a Special envoy of the African Union Chairman, President Idris Deby-Itno. A statement by Mallam Garba Shehu, the presidential media aide stated that the Special envoy, Mr Abubakar Saleh Chahaimi delivered a message from President Deby to President Buhari on the strengthening of bilateral relations between Nigeria and Chad, as well as the work of the African Union Consultative Committee on South Sudan.