Insurgency: FG pledge to release additional $79m to multinational force

Insurgency: FG pledge to release additional $79m to multinational force
President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that Nigeria will redeem her pledge of $100 million for the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to enhance the operations of the force in the ongoing fight against the Boko Haram insurgency.
Buhari gave the assurance in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Friday while speaking at a high-level meeting of the African Union (AU), Peace and Security Council.

He told the council that in keeping with his promise, Nigeria last June released $21 million to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) and would remit the $79 million balance very soon.

The meeting was ahead of the 26th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union billed to commence on Saturday at the Headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa with the theme “2016: African Year of Human Rights with a Particular Focus on the Rights of Women”.

The president also told the AU Peace and Security Council that Boko Haram’s capacity to conduct conventional attacks had been heavily degraded.

According to him, as of now, there is no single Nigerian territory under the control of the insurgents other than their hideouts in Sambisa Forest in Borno State.

President Buhari said the internally displaced persons (IDPs) were being resettled in their respective homes.

He said this feat totally accorded with his administration’s promise to Nigerians to rid the country of terrorism and extremism within few months of his assumption of office.

“Our efforts are already yielding dividends and we will not relent until the terrorist groups are totally decimated and wiped out of our country and sub-region” he said.

The president reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to supporting measures aimed at ending the conflicts in Burundi and South Sudan, including the proposed deployment of troops by the African Union to Burundi.
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