Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged $100 million for the fight against insecurity in the ECOWAS region.
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, said at the virtual 58th regular session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS on Saturday that $20 million of the amount would be released for the implementation of the ECOWAS counter-terrorism action plan.
He explained that $80 million will be disbursed to tackle insurgency and banditry in the north-east and north-west regions of Nigeria.
Local media reports on Sunday quoted the minister as saying that President Buhari also called for the immediate implementation of the action plan, which is expected to run from 2020 to 2024.
The reports also said that President Muhammadu Buhari supported the restructuring of the ECOWAS in the face of his obvious objection to Nigerians’ demands for restructuring on Saturday.
The Nigerian leader advised the regional body to streamline its administration in a manner which would be consistent with current realities.
In his introduction to the virtual 58th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, Buhari argued that there was a need for a lean and compact ECOWAS leadership.
GIK/APA