President Muhammadu Buhari says the crisis in Libya has perpetuated instability in the West Coast, with many of the trained fighters in the country now surviving on violent crimes and terrorism.
President Buhari said this on Saturday while speaking at a bilateral meeting with the President of Cote d’Ivoire, Dr Alhassan Quattara, on the sideline of the 56th Ordinary session of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.
The president, who said instability in State of Libya was a recurring threat to the Sahel and Sub-Saharan Africa, voiced concerns over the growing effect of the crisis on many lives.
He said the Libyan fighters, who were trained for the 43 years Muammar Gaddafi ruled the country, were armed with deadly weapons and had been roaming the Sahel and sub-Sahara sub-region, with no other skills for survival “but to shoot and kill.”
President Buhari, who expressed joy that neighbouring countries were supporting Nigeria in tackling the menace of the fighters, who had teamed up with Boko Haram, added that there was a need to do more by the West African countries, both under the ECOWAS platform and at bilateral levels.
President Quattara, in his remarks, said he came to brief the Nigerian leader on progress of the ECOWAS mandate given to him to negotiate exit of Francophone West African countries from their currency union with France and European Union.
The Ivorian President said he was pleased to report that he received the full support of the French government, under President Emmanuel Macron, and that the West African States were free to leave the union and join the “Eco”, the new currency designated for the West Coast.
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