Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has congratulated President of the United States Joe Biden on his inauguration, urging him to strengthen ties with Nigeria.
In a statement on Thursday, Atiku urged Biden to remove every travel restriction placed on Nigerians by the Trump administration and join in fighting terrorism in Africa’s most populous country.
“As @POTUS, @JoeBiden begins his tenure as the 46th President of the United States of America, I am confident that this new era will mark America’s regeneration and her reaffirmation as the beacon of democracy to the world,” his statement posted on Twitter reads.
“As I congratulate President Biden and @VP, @KamalaHarris, I urge them and their administration to strengthen US-Nigeria ties, and help our beloved nation’s war on terror by providing every type of support required to win our war against the insurgency we face.
“I also look forward to the removal of every travel restriction on Nigerian citizens, in keeping with the good relations that has existed between our two nations beginning with the July 27, 1961 state visit of our first Prime Minister, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, to President John F Kennedy, and continuing over the decades since then.
“As the playwright, George Bernard Shaw once said, America and Nigeria are two nations divided by a common language. And millions of Nigerians and I wish to see that relationship sustained to the mutual benefit of both our democratic nations.
“Congratulations once again and may God bless both our nations and bring about a beneficial tenure for your administration.”