Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, to confer with leaders of Cameroon, Niger, Chad and Benin Republic on further collaboration against terrorism

Read the State House press release
below...

President Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan will undertake a one-
day official visit to Niamey,
capital of Niger Republic
tomorrow, Tuesday, October 7,
2014 to participate in an
Extraordinary Summit of Heads
of State and Government of the
Lake Chad Basin Commission.

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.
It will be recalled that President
Jonathan and the Heads of State and
Government of the neighbouring
countries of Niger, Chad, Cameroon
and Benin Republic 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 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.

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.

Benin Republic, which participated in
the Paris Summit but is not a
member of the Lake Chad Basin
Commission, has 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, 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.

Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
October 6, 2014