The existing bilateral agreement on security between Nigeria and the Republic of Chad to combat the Islamic Sect, Boko Haram may be heading for the rocks, according to new report.
The Nigerian Military is said to be piqued by a statement credited to the President of Chad ldriss Deby, that the Nigerian Forces were slowing down the war against the insurgents around the Lake Chad Basin.
Though the Coordinator of the Defence Media Operations, a Directorate that coordinates information on Nigerian Military operations, Major General John Enenche, said that the Military is not disturbed by such statement as it is concerned with clearing the insurgents and occupying the Islands around the Lake Chad, there are feelers that there is frosty relationship between the Military hierarchy in both countries.
It will be recalled that Chad pulled out its troops from the Multi National Joint Task Force in January, though it was attributed to routine administrative matters.
Enenche however said that the Nigerian Military is more interested in the total decimation of Boko Haram than claiming victory for the defeat.
In what could be best described as fence mending move, the Chadian Minister of Defence, Mahamat Aba-Ali Salah, on Thursday, held a meeting with his Nigerian counterpart, Bashir Magashi, to discuss issues of bilateral importance between both countries in the Lake Chad Basin.
The meeting according to the Director of Publicity Ministry of Defence, Charles Nwodo, was necessitated by the need to sustain existing bilateral agreements on security between Nigeria and Chad particularly around the Lake Chad Basin.
The meeting was attended by other top dignitaries from Chad and Nigeria which include, the Chief of Staff to the Chadian President, Chadian Ambassador to Nigeria as well as the Chadian Director of Military Cooperation.
Also, present at the meeting from the Nigerian side, were the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Defence Intelligence, Chief of Defence Training and Operations (Defence Headquarters), Force Commander Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), and Theatre Commander Operation Lafiya Dole.
At the end, both countries agreed to continue with the conduct of combined operations under the auspices of the MNJTF.
Meanwhile, the Chadian Embassy in a statement issued in Abuja, described the remarks credited to President Deby as distorted and out of context.
According to the statement, “Embassy of the Republic of Chad to the Federal Republic of Nigeria hereby informs the public opinion that for sometime now. misleading videos and images dating back to 2015, with
dubious origins have been circulated on the web and in some online or print media designed to wrongly attribute to His Excellency ldriss
Deby ldriss, President of the Republic of Chad, completely distorted remarks, taken out of its context and alleging inaction or non-participation of the Nigerian army in the fight against Boko Haram.
“The Embassy of Chad strongly rejects and denounces this regrettable misinformation which only aims at deteriorating the excellent relations that exist between their Excellencies. President ldriss Deby Itno and his Brother and Counterpart, President Muhammadu Buhari, as well as the cooperation and exemplary and dynamic interaction established between Defense and Security Forces of both sister and neighboring countries bound by history, geography, culture and blood”.
It added that, “it is important for the Embassy to point out the imperative necessity to figure out and understand the deep qualitative development that has occurred in all areas of bilateral cooperation. Nigeria is the number one economic partner of Chad and security challenges as well as common sustainable development requires further rapprochement between the two nations”.
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