No but there is oil in Guinea and troops are ensuring that country is 'safe'

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US Forces Coming to Oil-Rich Gulf of Guinea - USAF Commander

Vanguard (Lagos)
August 10, 2004
Habib Yacoob
Abuja

THE United States yesterday said it was deploying forces to the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea, off Nigeria's coastline, because the region's vast oil and gas resources were of strategic economic importance to America and the rest of the world. Besides, the Nigerian Air Force has started taking delivery of the US$3million worth of spare parts meant for repairs and maintenance of the nation's Hercules C-130 combat aircraft earlier promised it by the United States Government.

Commander of the US Air Forces in Europe, General Robert Fogleson stated this during a visit to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Jonah Wuyep at the Defence Headquarters. General Fogleson said with the increasing threats of global terrorism, the deployment of US forces in the Gulf of Guinea was necessary if only to help protect a region that is currently of great importance to America's stability.

"We recognise there is going to be times around the world when the US military, in this case the US Navy, may have to respond to different conditions. Often, the US Air Force, the US Navy get involved in going to places where there have been some kind of humanitarian crises and so we will push forces out in the different regions and as you also know, there are times when we push our forces out in the world to care about potential terrorist activities they come across.

"But I can tell you this (Gulf of Guinea) was a broad-based exercise and that particular one was used as a sub-set of that broad range exercise," he stated, adding "this region (Gulf of Guinea) is important to the stability of the United States and it's important to the stability of the world in a sense because of the petroleum resource that you have in your country and so it's no surprise to me that if the US Navy, the US Government wanted to exercise, that they will take the areas that are of great importance to them."

Fogleson under whose command the Gulf of Guinea falls however assured the US Navy's deployment in the region would not constitute any threat to the territorial integrity of Nigeria as the warships will exercise hundreds of miles off Nigeria's coastline. He asked for cooperation and concerted efforts with Nigeria to deal with global terrorism, noting that no country on her own could successfully execute the task.

Speaking earlier, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Jonah Wuyep disclosed that the Nigerian Air Force has received from the US Government part of the US$3million worth of spares promised it to enable it repair the nation's broken down Hercules C-130 aircraft.

"One had hoped that our return to democratic governance in 1999 would rekindle this co-operation. Unfortunately, for one reason or the other, things have not picked up as fast as we would have wanted. Notwithstanding, I must hasten to acknowledge the recent $3million aid package from the US Government to the NAF for the procurement of C-130 spares," he said.

The Nigerian Air Force boss also called for an urgent co-operation with the US Air Force to enable the country combat any potential terrorist threat in the Gulf of Guinea which he said should be of concern to both countries given the region's rich oil and gas resources.

Wuyep therefore solicited further assistance of the US Air Force to enable the Nigerian Air Force complement the efforts of the Nigerian Navy in providing adequate security in the Gulf of Guinea.

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