Osinbajo meets African Union peace council over insurgency

Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the African Union (AU) Ambassador Hope Tumukunde Gasatura (left); leader of the delegation, Nigerian Permanent Representative to the AU Ambassador Bankole Adeoye; Acting President Yemi Osinbajo; Foreign Affairs Minister Goeffrey Onyema; Minister of Defence, Brig. Gen. Mansar Dan Ali (rtd) and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin during a meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council at the State House, Abuja  …yesterday. PHOTO: PHILIP OJISUA

• UNIMAID to partner NNPC in search for oil in Chad Basin •UN-NHF earmarks $10.5 million for vulnerable IDPs

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday held a crucial meeting with ‎a delegation from the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC), which has been visiting countries in the lake Chad basin on a fact-finding mission.

The PSC delegation was led by its Chairperson for the month of July, Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, who is also Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and to the AU.

A statement signed by his Special Assistant on media and publicity, Laolu Akande, quoted Osinbajo as revealing during the closed door meeting that ‎countries in the Lake Chad Basin have worked together to deal with the terrorist insurgency in the region and the consequent humanitarian crisis.

He said the Buhari administration is “extremely pleased with what we have seen, and we like to see more,” of such cooperation. He cited the progress of the Multi-National Joint Task Force set up to address the terrorist insurgency.

Prof Osinbajo noted that unlike in the past when there were difficulties when the militaries of the four countries tried to work together, the MNJTF surmounted the challenges and has succeeded.

However, he observed that the humanitarian consequences of the insurgency are compounded by deep poverty, making the costs of dealing with the situation “huge and enormous.”

Meanwhile, the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) has promised to continue its participation in oil search in the North-East with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Ibrahim Njodi, said the university would not chicken out of the search. Njodo told a delegation of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, led by the Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power of the NNPC, Saidu Mohammed, who paid him a visit in Maiduguri that though the entire university community was distraught by the cruel incident of July 25, 2017, the institution would not back out of what it is supposed to do when eventually the NNPC re-organises and returns to exploration work in the area.

Mohammed said that as a responsible corporate entity, the NNPC would do everything within its means to support the university and the families of the victims of the attack.

Also, the United Nations’ New Humanitarian Fund (UN-NHF) has earmarked $10.5 million (N3.213 billion) to overcome humanitarian crises in Borno State the Northeast sub-region of the country.

The Country UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. Edward Kallon disclosed this yesterday in a statement to journalists in Maiduguri.