Nigeria has stressed the need for strong partnership, effective monitoring and sound management of resources committed to the Lake Chad project.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama stated this at a follow up meeting on the High-Level Conference on the Lake Chad region on the sideline of the 73rd UN General Assembly in New York.
The Acting Director, International Organisation Department, Mr Richards Adejola, represented the Minister at the meeting.
The former informal meeting chaired by the Germany Minister of Foreign Affairs, Heiko Maas, had in attendance representatives of other co-hosts nations, which included Nigeria, Norway, Chad, Niger, Cameroon and UN
The meeting discussed strategies for the implementation of the outcome document of the High Level Conference on the Lake Chad (OSLO 11) held in Berlin, Germany in September.
The September international donor conference on the Lake Chad (Oslo 11) had pledged 2.52 billion dollars to help countries in the Lake Chad Basin address humanitarian crisis occasioned by Boko Haram insurgent.
Germany’s foreign ministry said the aid would be disbursed “in the coming years” to Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon, where the jihadist group launched frequent suicide bomb attacks from its bases in Lake Chad.
The two-day conference, which was attended by more than 70 states, international organisations and non-governmental organisations, raised 672 million dollars in 2017.
The Nigeria Minister thanked partners for their resilience and continued commitment to the cause of the Lake Chad region
Foreign Minister of Chad, Hissein Taha, reiterated the need to anchor humanitarian assistance with future development needs.
Taha advised on the over-arching need to address the main causes from the many challenges of the Lake Chad region.
This he said, included the receding Lake Chad and ongoing efforts to curb the activities of Boko Haram insurgency in the area.
Similar view were expressed by the Niger Foreign Minister, Kalla Ankourao, and the Ambassador/Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cameroon to the UN, Tommo Monthe.
They expressed readiness to remain committed to the increasing partnership for the benefit of the people and future development of the region. (NAN)