Jonathan heads to Niamey for another terrorism meeting

President Goodluck Jonathan will undertake a one-day visit to Niamey, capital of Niger Republic on Tuesday, to participate in an extraordinary summit of heads of state and government of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, presidential spokesman Reuben Abati, has disclosed.

“President Jonathan and other participating heads of state and government are expected to review ongoing collaboration against terrorism and agree on further joint action to curb terrorism and insurgency within and across their national boundaries,” he stated.

In May, the president and the heads of state and government of the neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin Republic had resolved at a meeting in Paris (pictured) 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 state and government also agreed to establish joint anti-terrorism patrols and a system of sharing intelligence to support operations against terrorists and other cross-border criminals,” Abati explained.

“They likewise agreed to create a dedicated team to draw up and advise on the implementation of a regional counter-terrorism strategy under the framework of the Lake Chad Basin Commission.”

The presidential spokesman further disclosed 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.

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.

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; 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.”