President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday appealed to political leaders in Guinea Bissau to embrace unity and avoid any act that could plunge the nation into further crisis.
The president made the appeal when he received Mr Modibo Toure, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Guinea Bissau at the State House, Abuja.
Buhari decried the lingering political crisis in the West African country.
“They must accept responsibility for leadership to stabilize their own country,’’ he said. He further maintained that only the country’s political leaders, not outsiders that could effectively resolve the political crisis in the country.
The president told the visiting envoy that Nigeria would welcome increased support from ECOWAS and the United Nations to stabilise the country and prevent breakdown of law and order.
According to him, Nigeria has a responsibility to the region and the rest of Africa, saying that “we will not shirk on our responsibility, in spite of the hardship confronting us’’.
Toure had requested Nigeria to use its clout in the regional bloc, ECOWAS, to break the deadlock in the country.
The UN representative warned that Guinea Bissau faced “a very grim future if the country continues without a functioning government’’