President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday promised the President of Republic of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum of commitment to stabilise the region.
The Nigeria President stated this while receiving his Nigerien counterpart who visited him in Abuja on his first international visit.
Buhari in a statement released through his spokesman, Femi Adesina, said, “We will stabilise our region for the benefit of the two countries.”
The President 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.”
Buhari who congratulated Bazoum on victory in the presidential election in his country, vowed that Nigeria would assist its close neighbour in diverse ways as required.
“You have been in the system for a long time. The only thing is that you had never been President. Now you are one,” he added.
President Buhari while speaking on the issue of insurgency said, “We will do all it takes to secure our two countries.”
He also commented the immediate past President, Mahamadou Issoufou, for what he called “his understanding and sacrifices” to help stabilize the region, urged the successor to maintain the institutions his predecessor had established.
President Bazoum, who said he was delighted to make Nigeria his first port of call, noted that the two countries have common interests, “and, therefore, a good relationship is very important.
“On security, he observed that the fact that some Nigerians flee to Niger during terrorist attacks “shows that we need to cooperate, and we will face our challenges together.”