BEVERLY HILLS, April 19, (THEWILL) – President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday assured Republic of Niger’s new President Mohamed Bazoum that efforts would be geared towards achieving the stability of the region to the benefit of both neighbouring countries.
The President, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said Nigerians and Nigeriens are people with similar culture, language and ways of life, “and we also share about 1,500 kilometres of land border, so we cannot ignore each other.”
On terrorism, President Buhari observed that the Republic of Niger also suffered high casualties from terror attacks, vowing: “We will do all it takes to secure our two countries.”
Bazoum, who said he was delighted to make Nigeria his first port of call, noted that the two countries had common interests.
He observed that the fact that some Nigerians fled to Niger during terrorist attacks “shows that we need to cooperate, and we will face our challenges together.”
Nigeria’s President congratulated Bazoum on winning the recent presidential election, and his successful inauguration into office.
“You have been in the system for a long time. The only thing is that you had never been President. Now you are one,” Buhari said, assuring him that Nigeria would assist its close neighbour in diverse ways as required.
Buhari, who was thankful to the immediate past President Mahamadou Issoufou for what he called “his understanding and sacrifices” to help stabilise the region, urged the successor to maintain the institutions his predecessor had established.
