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Nigerian leader assures Italy of oil workers' safety in Nigeria
AFP
ABUJA
Petroleumworld.com 03 14 07Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has given assurances for the safety of foreign oil workers in his country and regarding the speedy release of the few still remaining hostage, his office said Tuesday.
Obasanjo was quoted as saying in Italy on Monday that Nigeria's government was fully prepared and able to provide adequate security for oil workers and installations in the volatile Niger Delta.
He also said the government was taking "effective steps" to ensure that all oil workers still being held hostage in the southern region, where a number of armed separatist forces and bandit gangs operate, are freed unharmed.
Obasanjo made the remarks at a meeting on Monday in Rome with the Italian Prime Minister, Romano Prodi, a statement from the Nigerian leader's office said.
Despite a recent wave of hostage liberations, two Italians and one Frenchman are still being held by different groups in the Delta.
The two Italians, Cosma Russo and Francesco Arena, both employees of Italian oil company Agip, were kidnapped in the region on December 7 by an armed group, MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta).
A third man, Gerard Laporal of France, was seized February 7 by a different, unidentified group.
"We will spare no effort to ensure that they are all released expeditiously," Obasanjo assured Prodi, according to the statement.
Prodi thanked him for helping to secure the release of some Italians who have been freed, but expressed deep concern for the safety of the others and asked for the president's further intervention.
AFP 13 1530 GMT 03 07
Copyright© 2007 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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