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| President Goodluck Jonathan |
President Goodluck Jonathan has
admitted that some of the 8 foreign Nationals being held hostage by terrorists
in Northern Nigeria may be dead due to ill health and other complications.
The President spoke on Monday as he
received Lebanese President Michel Sleiman who is on a 2 day working visit to
Nigeria
President Jonathan however expressed confidence
that based on security reports most of the hostages are still alive and will be
rescued soon.
Nigeria has over the past 2 days played host to
Foreign representations from countries whose National are being held as
hostages.
On Saturday French Foreign Minister Laurent
Fabius was in Abuja with a message from President Francois Hollande while on
Monday he received at State house President Michel Sleiman of Lebanon.
Of course the issue of the hostages would top
the agenda in these discussions and though he is placed in a difficult
position, President Jonathan continues to give assurances that his government
is doing everything within its resources to secure their release.
Beyond the hostage situation, Nigeria and
Lebanon have agreed to deepen their bilateral ties along 5 broad categories:
works and infrastructure development, trade and investment, culture and tourism
Security and Aviation.
The Lebanese President acknowledged and
appreciated the efforts of the Nigerian government in trying to resolve the
hostage situation.
But he was called upon by members of his
delegation that Lebanon was secure and stable and determined to go ahead with
elections slated for later this month.
President Sleiman was also quick to assure would
be Nigerian investors that their investments would be secure in Lebanon.
This is the first visit of a Lebanese President
to Nigeria since independence in 1960.
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