President Goodluck Jonathan will today depart Abuja for Niamey, the capital of Niger Republic, on a one-day official visit to participate in an extraordinary summit of heads of states and governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media & Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, Jonathan and other participating heads of states and governments are expected to review ongoing collaboration against terrorism and agree on further joint actions to curb terrorism and insurgency within and across their national boundaries.
Abati recalled that the president and the heads of states and governments of the neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin Republic had resolved at a meeting in Paris in May this year to intensify joint efforts to curtail terrorism and violent extremism.
“At the Paris Summit hosted by President Francois Hollande of France in the aftermath of the dastardly abduction of the Chibok College girls, President Jonathan and neighbouring heads of states and governments also agreed to establish joint anti-terrorism patrols and a system of sharing intelligence to support operations against terrorists and other cross-border criminals”, he noted.
The presidential aide pointed out that Benin Republic, which participated in the Paris Summit but is not a member of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, had been invited to the Niamey talks.
“President Jonathan who will be accompanied to Niamey by the minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Aminu Wali, the minister of State for Defence Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, the Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshall Alex Barde and other senior government officials will return to Abuja at the conclusion of the one-day summit,” he added.
The Lake Chad Basin Commission was established in 1964 by Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon with the mandate of sustainably and equitably managing shared water resources of the Lake Chad Basin and promoting regional integration, peace and security across the Basin.
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