Encomium
President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Abuja welcomed efforts to strengthen and expand cooperation between ECOWAS and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) on the war against terrorism.
Speaking at a meeting with the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, President Buhari restated his view that greater regional and international cooperation was needed to ensure victory over terrorism in Nigeria and other countries.
The President assured Mr. Ouedraogo that Nigeria will 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.
President Buhari also 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 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.
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
June 25, 2015
