President Buhari, Macron agree to cooperate on fight against insecurity

President Muhammadu Buhari and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron have committed their two nations to working together to fight insecurity bedeviling the Lake Chad basin area and the entire Sahel.

Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, in a statement in Abuja, said the two leaders made this position known at a bilateral meeting in Paris, France, on Tuesday.

Macron, who hosted the Nigerian leader on the margins of the Financing Africa Summit in Paris, pledged his steadfast support for Nigeria and its people as they confront the security challenges facing the country.

The French government would absolutely be there on the side of Nigeria and it was willing to support everything to assist the country overcome its security threats, Macron said.

He also pledged to support Nigeria in confronting the challenges faced with COVID-19 vaccines.

At the meeting, Buhari, who outlined the challenges facing the country as well as its neighbours, also spoke about the steps he had taken to reignite response to the situation which, he said, included the appointment of the new Service Chiefs.

The president expressed the willingness of Nigeria to work with France and all its international partners to rein in the security challenges.

He thanked President Macron for agreeing to deepen the existing relations with Nigeria.