President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the release of
$21 million out of the $100 million pledged by Nigeria to the Multi National
Joint Task Force against Boko Haram.
Buhari announced this while chairing
the African Union (AU), Peace and Security Council (PSC) meeting at the
on-going AU summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
He said the order, which was in
response to a decision by the leaders of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC)
and Benin in Abuja to immediately fund the MNJTF with not less than $30
million, will be carried out this week.
“The member countries of Lake Chad
Basin Commission and Benin, met recently where far reaching decisions were
taken to immediately put into operations the Multinational Joint Task Force.
“To this end, the summit approved the
immediate provision of $30 million for the Multinational Joint Task Force.
“Consequently out of the pledge of
$100 million which Nigeria made to the Multinational Joint Task Force, I have
directed that $21 million be released within the next one week,’’ Buhari told
the AU.
He said he was pleased to note that
Cameroon, Chad and Niger “are demonstrating of this support.
“They are fighting alongside Nigeria
under the umbrella of Multinational Joint Task Force to defeat Boko Haram.’’
Buhari observed that the continent
was inundated with crises of various forms which required urgent attention.
“We are witnesses to the rampant
destruction of homes, roads, communications lines, vital infrastructure and
displacement of persons not to mention terrible loss of lives.”
“This is true I must add of the
North-East of Nigeria where we are dealing with the scourge of Boko Haram.”
“The Boko Haram insurgency has
extended its reach to Nigeria’s neighbours but is not necessarily limited to
these immediate countries as terrorism is a global phenomenon with linkages
across the globe.”
“Given this dimension of global
terror, it requires us to act accordingly in brotherhood and partnership to
fight our common goals against agents of evil,’’ he said.
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