French Parliamentarians on a working visit to West Africa have pledged their support for Nigeria in the fight against terrorism.
The parliamentarians led by the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Emmanuelle Blatmman made the pledge during a courtesy call to Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
The delegation made the visit to Nigeria to understudy and understand the nature of security threats in the country and how to fight insecurity in the West African region.
On the issue of security alerts issued by some western countries, the French Ambassador said that she considered it an overreaction.
“If I may say so, this was totally unjustified in our view and it was a huge overreaction. I just want to say that we’re here and we won’t close down anything, we won’t send back anybody. We Stand by you. We know what terrorism is”. She said.
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama in response said that Nigeria has made great strides in the allocation of resources towards the fight against insecurity, especially in the Gulf of Guinea which has seen some level of success and welcomed France’s support.
“And of course, we appreciate also the cooperation of a number of our partners including France in addressing those challenges in the Gulf of Guinea. And we welcome the support of countries such as yours in this important endeavour for the global community “. He said.
Mr. Onyeama also said that Nigeria will always be at the front agitating for democracy, good governance and security on the continent.
“We are expected by African countries to play a leadership role on the continent and we do not run away from that responsibility. And we do play that role in many different ways to promote democracy in the sub-region. And working with other countries in the area of security and good governance”. He said
Bilateral cooperation
Mr. Onyeama while addressing issues on the Russia-Ukraine war, said that Nigeria has taken a stand with the United Nations at a global level.
On migration, the Foreign Minister said Nigeria as a party to the United Nations compact on migration, has been working on programmes to stop irregular migration. While also working with European countries to make easy regular migration.
The French delegation which are members of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Armed Forces Committee in the French senate, were on a strategic working visit to discuss bilateral cooperation with Nigeria and Africa.
The discussions also focused on the partnership between France and Nigeria, on transportation and infrastructure.
The French delegation also visited the Nigerian Senate and the Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff.
Olusola Akintonde
