Jonathan to join other leaders for LCBC summit in Niamey

By The Citizen

President Goodluck Jonathan will Tuesday leave Abuja for Niamey, the Nigerien capital, to participate in an Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC).

   The one-day visit, according to a statement from the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati yesterday, is to offer Jonathan and other participating Heads of State and Governments an opportunity to review ongoing collaboration against terrorism and agree on further joint action to curb insurgency within and across their national boundaries.

   Abati recalled that the President 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.'