COTONOU (Sundiata Post) – President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that the Multinational Joint Task Force of the Lake Chad Commission would defeat the Boko Haram insurgency group by the end of this year.
Buhari said this in Cotonou on Saturday at the gala lunch held in his honour by President Boni Yayi of Benin Republic.
President Buhari was on a one-day visit to Cotonou as the special guest of honour at the 55th independence anniversary of Benin Republic.
Buhari commended Yayi for increasing the number of Benin Republic’s troops to 800 for the MNJTF, saying “and I assure you that we will defeat Boko Haram by the end of this year”.
He said he was completely overwhelmed by the honour of inviting him for the independence anniversary and bestowing the national honour of the Republic of Benin on him.
Buhari noted that even when he was a military head of state, Nigeria has always learnt to live peacefully with her neighbours.
He said: “I am impressed by your concern and critical approaches by increasing your contributions to the multinational task force of the Lake Chad Commission. This is a great sacrifice on the part of the Benin Republic.
“Even in my first coming into office under a different arrangement, we have learnt to live in peace with our neighbours. Within the week I was sworn in, I went to Niger and Chad. I was supposed to go to Cameroon but I was summoned by the G7 leaders to brief them about the security situation in Nigeria concerning Boko Haram which declared allegiance to ISIS which gives it international dimension”.
Earlier, Yayi had pledged that his country was ready to send about 800 troops as part of its contributions to the fight against terrorism.
Yayi said that his country would collaborate with Nigeria in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency, noting that “Your Excellency, I am by your side. You are not alone. We are ready to send about 800 men.”
Yayi acknowledged that the Republic of Benin is the 37th state of Nigeria and described Buhari as a man of integrity who, according to him, was concerned about the integration of the West African sub-region.
He said: “You are a man of integrity. The integration of the sub-region is your concern. Your coming here brings our two countries together. Our customs services should meet about economy. Benin is the 37th state of Nigeria.”