The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has solicited the support of the Peoples Republic of China in order to end insecurity in the country.
Gbajabiamila noted that Nigeria and China have good economic and political relationship, adding that there was a need to establish strong military ties between the two countries with a view to ending insecurity.
He stated this when he received the Ambassador of the Peoples Republic of China Zhou Pingjian, on a courtesy call in his office in Abuja on Tuesday.
Advertisement
Gbajabiamila said Nigeria needs help at this time from wherever it could get it.
“What I’ll implore you is on the military relationships. Our biggest problem right now is the issue of insecurity, and we’ll be happy to get help now from wherever we can.
“So, in terms of military ties, we’ll be happy to get help from you at this time,” Gbajabiamila said.
On the Coronavirus epidemic, Gbajabiamila commended the Chinese Government for all the measures it has taken so far to contain the virus and avoid its spread to other parts of the world.
He said Nigeria would continue to support China in any way it could to end the virus, adding that there was a need for proper enlightenment to avoid panic among the people.
The speaker noted that China is a very important trade partner with Nigeria, calling for stronger ties both economically and politically.
“Yours is a very important trade partner. As you said, 19bn dollars is quite a big chunk of money. We look forward to a robust economic and even political relationships. Our country will continue to ensure that the relationship is good.
“You have the issue of coronavirus, and we commend you for what you’ve done so far. You’ve been proactive so far. You built a 1000-bed hospital in about a week and another 1600-bed hospital.
“We know that all these things are temporary but necessary measures. You did address the issue of misinformation and all of that. But we must always recognise the fact that there will always be fear of the unknown.
“We met with the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) here. The DG gave us the same assurances that you gave us. With the measures taken, I know in no time it will go. But whatever that caused it in the first place should be addressed.
“We’re here to support you even if it’s morally so that you’ll continue to fight this disease.”
Gbajabiamila later presented a letter of condolence to the Chinese Ambassador for onward transmission to the Speaker of the Peoples Congress of China.
The Chinese Ambassador, Pingjian, had earlier told the speaker that his country considers Nigeria as a very important trade partner, especially with the recent trade volume between the two countries rising to around 19 billion US Dollars.
While calling for the continuous peaceful relationship between the two countries, Pingjian said China would continue to support Nigeria in every way possible for the country to achieve her set goals.
Speaking on the coronavirus epidemic, the ambassador said the Chinese Government had been doing a lot and had taken enough measures to contain the disease.
So far, he said, no Nigerian living in China was infected with the disease, noting that his country would do everything possible to protect foreign nationals’ resident in the country.
“We’ll protect the lives and properties of Nigerians in China,” he said, adding that his country has the competence, capacity and will to contain the epidemic and that China would emerge stronger from the epidemic.