President Muhammadu Buhari has said whatever affects Libya will have an impact on Nigeria and other countries in the Lake Chad Basin area.
Buhari said this after receiving the Chairman, Presidential Council of Libya, Mohammed Younis Menfi, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday.
“Republics of Chad, and Niger, have extensive borders with Libya, and they are our immediate neighbours. Whatever affects them affects us. The stability or instability of Libya will directly affect us,” he said.
He stressed that the security of Nigeria was the number one priority to him, noting that “unless a country or institution is secured, there’s no way you can efficiently manage it.”
This is according to a statement issued by the Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, titled ‘ Why Stability Of Libya Matters To Us, By President Buhari.’
The statement said Buhari expressed the delight that “the Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya could personally attend the Summit of Lake Chad Basin Commission held in Abuja on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Chad and the implications for security in neighbouring countries.”
Adesina quoted Menfi as saying Libya was fast-evolving, adding that “we now have one government, active on the ground. We are expelling the mercenaries, and unifying the instructions.”
He said democratic elections would be held in due course, adding that the historical relationship between his country and Nigeria in the areas of oil and agriculture meant that one country could not ignore the other.
“We aspire for joint cooperation, and reactivation of previous agreements,” Menfi said. (Punch)
