Buhari: Nigeria will continue supporting ECOWAS financially

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that Nigeria will continue fulfilling its financial obligation to the regional body.

Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, disclosed this in a statement he issued on Thursday.

According to Adesina, Buhari made the promise during a meeting with Kadre Ouedraogohe, president of ECOWAS, at the presidential villa in Abuja.

He said Buhari noted that efforts aimed at strengthening cooperation between ECOWAS and the Economic Community of Central African States would boost the war against terrorism.

“President Buhari assured Mr. Ouedraogo that Nigeria will continue to fulfill its financial obligations to ECOWAS to enhance the regional body’s ability to attain its objective of regional integration and development,” the statement read.

“He assured Ouedraogo that Nigeria would hold further consultations with other stakeholders to agree on a new date for the ECOWAS-ECCAS security summit on Boko Haram earlier scheduled to hold in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea on April 8, 2015.

“The summit was postponed because of the general elections in Nigeria on March 28 and April 11, 2015.

“The President commended the ECOWAS Commission and other ECOWAS institutions for progress made on the Biometric Identity Card system, which will come into force in 2016, saying that its introduction will be a major milestone to full regional integration and the free movement of ECOWAS citizens within the sub-region.”