Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjoon yesterday said he himself would assume responsibility for earlier release of the five Chinese telecommunication workers kidnapped Friday morning in southern Nigeria.

Meeting with Chinese Ambassador Xu Jianguo at the presidential villa in the capital Abuja, Obasanjo said the "kidnapping incident would be well solved," adding that he hoped "the incident would not affect the development of Nigeria-China cooperation."

The president also said the Nigerian governments at all levels and the police would do their best to rescue the workers.

The five Chinese workers from the Sichuan Telecommunication Company were taken as hostage early Friday morning by a group of unidentified armed gunmen who stormed their residence at Rumuakwunde, Emohua local council government area, Rivers state, according to a reliable source.

The Chinese company has withdrawn its workers who were working in two other places in the same state.

The company was involved in the Nigerian rural telephone project which, when put into operation, will help improve telecommunication services in various rural areas in Nigeria, the most populous African country with a population of more than 140 million.