President Muhammadu Buhari has accepted to visit Cameroon, following an invitation from Paul Biya, the Cameroonian president, for talks on the intensification of cooperation between Nigeria and neighbouring countries in the war against terrorism.
Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, revealed that Buhari initially had a plan to visit Cameroon, but it was interrupted by the G7 summit in Germany.
“I am happy that the president has sent you. As you must have observed, I was in Niger and Chad over this issue,” Adesina quoted the president as saying.
“I planned to be in Cameroon afterwards, but I received an invitation to attend the Group of Seven (G7) meeting in Germany. I had to attend the meeting because Boko Haram has been internationalised and it was part of the discussions there.”
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The statement said the invitation was delivered to the president by Sadi Rene Emmanuel, the Cameroonian minister of territorial administration and decentralisation.
It said Buhari had agreed to visit Cameroon for the high-level talks soon after the end of the Ramadan fast.
Buhari, who said he was putting his experience as a former soldier to good use in the war against Boko Haram, re-emphasised the need for greater regional and international cooperation in the fight against the insurgents.
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The president commended the efforts of all regional governments, including Cameroon to support Nigeria in the war against Boko Haram, but called for even greater collaboration.
The special envoy was quoted to have assured Buhari of Biya’s “fraternity, sympathy and brotherly commitment” to working with Nigeria to end the Boko Haram insurgency.
“Together, we will reinforce our efforts, eradicate the scourge of terrorism and look forward to better things.”
Buhari had initially visited Chad and Niger for similar talks to end insurgency in the region.
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