President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the instability in Libya after 42 years of Muammar Gaddafi is still affecting countries in the Sahel region, including Nigeria as gunmen have continued to wreak havoc.
He said this on Tuesday at State House, Abuja, while receiving a Special Envoy from His Excellency, President Idris Deby Itno of the Republic of Chad.
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The President, who said he was aware of the problem Chad has with Libya, which backs some Chadian rebels trying to destabilise the country, promised that Nigeria will always be there for Chad as “we are not only neighbours but brothers.”
He added that Nigeria appreciates the support she was getting in tackling insecurity from the neighbouring country.
“We are aware of the problem Chad has with Libya, which supports some Chadian rebels, trying to destabilize the country. The instability in Libya after 42 years of Muammar Gaddafi affects all of us in the Sahel region.
“From Mauritania to Central Africa Republic, Gaddafi recruited gunmen, who learnt to do nothing else than to kill.
“When the former Libyan Leader was killed, the gunmen escaped with their arms, and are wreaking havoc all over the place now,”
President Buhari said in a statement issued by his spokesman, Femi Adesina.
The President, who stressed that Nigeria was grateful to Chad for the diverse kinds of support given to combat the Boko Haram insurgency, assured that Nigeria would always back up Chad in its local and international aspirations.
The Special Envoy, Mr Amine Abba-Sidick, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Chadians Abroad, conveyed a message from his President, whom he said sent fraternal greetings to President Buhari and Nigerians in general.