China government has guaranteed to help Nigeria foot a bill of ¥50 million amounting to N2 billion in a military facility to help Nigeria i her counter-insurgency operations in a bid to totally eradicate the Boko Haram in the Northern Region.
Dr. Zhou Pingjuan; the Ambassador of China to Nigeria, who made the disclosure during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Nigeria’s Minister of Defence Mansur Muhammad Dan Ali and the ambassador on behalf of China, said, the initiative was part of military cooperation agreed upon by both nations in 2018.
“In September 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari led a Nigerian delegation to China to attend the Africa-Chinese forum.
At the forum, he held bilateral discussions with President Xi Jinping on several areas of cooperation particularly in the area of military-to-military relations.
The Chinese Ambassador Pingjuan said “At the meeting in China, an initial pledge of ¥6 million was made in support of the Nigerian military. Now, another ¥50 million has been made to support the counter- insurgency operation of the military,”
Dr. Pingjuan moreover, expounded that both nations Nigeria and China had overtime nursed a cordial relationship that has grown into a stronger bond in the economic and other key sectors, which is still a continuum.
The ambassador stressed that the MoU which contain the peace and security agreement would help to glue the duo nations the more.
Muhammad Dan-Ali said while responding, “Insurgency is no longer a country’s problem alone; it is now a global issue. So, countries must join hands together to fight and defeat it.” as he lauds the Chinese government for backing Nigeria in the battle against insurgency and to restore peace.
The Nigerian Minister of Defence gives hope in reciprocating commitment saying the cooperation would be followed with more hardihood.
Meanwhile, the newly formed Nigerian Army Special Forces Command, supported by the Air Force and Navy, have cleared Boko Haram terrorists from Zare, Kukawa, Cross Kauwa and Gudumbali, in Borno North. saying: “Insurgency is no longer a country’s problem alone; it is now a global issue. So, countries must join hands together to fight and defeat it.”
The Army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, confirmed this in a statement yesterday.
He said: “The troops, who are in high spirit, had since linked up with other forces in Baga where they cleared the Naval Base and surrounding areas. Unfortunately, in the process, the Special Forces lost one officer and a soldier, while five others sustained injuries. The remains of the two fallen heroes and the wounded have since been evacuated. The injured soldiers are in stable condition and receiving medical attention.”
According to Usman, the troops are now busy clearing the remnants of the terrorists within the northern Borno axis with special emphasis on the Lake Chad region.
“The Special Forces attained these great strides in close operational synergy with the Air Task Force of the Nigerian Air Force, which gave intelligence and close air support by bombarding the terrorists. The outstanding and daredevil exploits of the Air Force pilots gave more courage and firepower to the troops. Similarly, the Nigerian Navy Special Forces were not left out of these gallant efforts,” he said.
