President Buhari Jets Out To Cameroon, To Hold Talks Over Boko Haram Insurgency

President Muhammadu Buhari will today visit Yaounde, Cameroon, to hold talks with President Paul Biya and other senior Cameroonian government officials.

President Buhari will for the first time be accom­panied outside the country with six governors drawn from across party lines.

Special Adviser on Me­dia and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina listed the governors as Al­haji Mohammed Bindow (Adamawa), Mr. Emmanu­el Udom (Akwa Ibom), Mr. Samuel Ortom (Benue), Alhaji Kashim Shettima (Borno), Mr. Ben Ayade (Cross River) and Mr. Dar­ius Ishaku (Taraba).

Also on the president’s entourage are the Per­manent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA.

The Nigerian delegation will also discuss further joint measures to curb ter­rorism, violent extremism and other cross-border crimes with President Biya and Cameroonian government officials.

Adesina described the trip as part of the presi­dent’s ongoing effort to build a more effective re­gional coalition against Boko Haram.

“The talks between President Buhari and his Cameroonian counter­part are expected to focus on the full activation and deployment of the Multi­national Joint Task Force against Boko Haram, which has been estab­lished under the auspices of the Lake Chad Basin Commission.

“President Buhari will also use the opportunity of his visit to Yaoundé to meet with Nigerians liv­ing in Cameroun,” he said.

The President, who is due back in Abuja tomor­row, will also undertake a one-day trip to Benin Republic on Saturday for talks with President Boni Yayi to round-off the dip­lomatic shuttles to neigh­bouring countries.

Adesina recalled that the president had em­barked on the sub-region­al trip upon assumption of office to strengthen regional cooperation against terrorism and make it harder for Boko Haram to operate across national boundaries.