President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria on Monday met with the President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso and the President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Mbasogo and held discussions on issues of common interest to the countries.
The visit by the two Presidents is a consolidation of a decision made by the Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), during their summit in Yaunde, Cameroon, on February 16.
The three Presidents reviewed the current security challenges facing some countries of the Economic Communities of West African States (ECOWAS) and Central African Regions, especially terrorism and the menace of the insurgency by Boko Haram.
They unequivocally condemned the insurgency, its destructive activities such as indiscriminate killing of people, the wanton destruction of property, the abduction of innocent women and children, especially young school girls, who had been turned to sex slaves.
The Presidents underscored the imperative of a multi-prolonged approach to fighting the terrorist group and in particular, commended the initiative of the member states of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), for a Multi National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), to combat the Boko Haram insurgency.
They welcomed the active support of the international community, especially the African Union, the United Nations and other partners, for the efforts of the LCBC and the Benin Republic to enable the earliest deployment of the MNJTF.
While underscoring the fact that the MNJTF is wholly owned and driven by the member states of the LCBC, they urged the international community to render necessary material, financial support and assistance to its on-going efforts.
The three Presidents welcomed the proposal to have a joint summit of the ECOWAS and ECCAS to further mobilise international support for the MNJTF.
President Jonathan promised to contact the ECOWAS chairman on the proposal while the visiting presidents promised to relay the positive outcome of the meeting to the other Heads of States and government of the ECCAS.
