Buhari warns: South Sudan must not collapse

President Muhammadu Buhari has advised the authorities of South Sudan not to allow the lingering crisis in the country lead to its collapse.

According to Garba Shehu, the president said this on Thursday when he received Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon, the country’s vice-president, who briefed him on the situation South Sudan.

Shehu said Buhari 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 seven months ago was successfully implemented.

He said Buhari also promised to galvanize all relevant stakeholders in the committee to remove the impediments to the implementation of the agreement.

The president also advised leaders of South Sudan not to allow ethnicity and corruption to gain a foothold in the new country.

“The situation must not deteriorate. Ethnicity and corruption are a lethal combination. You have to deal with them otherwise instability will continue,” he said.

On a similar note, Buhari also received Abubakar Saleh Chahaimi, a special envoy of President Idris Deby, the African Union chairman.

Chahaimi delivered a message from Deby to 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.