Buhari Strikes Fresh Deal with Turkish President on Counter-terrorism
Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday in Ankara, Turkey agreed to strengthen cooperation between the security agencies of both Nigeria and Turkey on counter-terrorism.
A statement by the president’s spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, said Buhari at a joint press conference after talks with his host, said he was ‘‘ very pleased ’’ that the defence ministers of both countries held extensive discussions on how to develop new strategies for counter-terrorism.
“We are very pleased with the progress of the meeting so far and we are going to wait for the details of meetings between the two countries. We will as a result of the meeting between the ministers and officials of both countries strengthen rapidly whatever their recommendations are,’’ the president was quoted to have said.
Garba said Buhari while commenting on the degradation of Boko Haram in Nigeria, said the improved security situation in the North-east was an eloquent testimony to the efforts of his administration in combating terrorism since he came into office in May 2015
“We were very surprised and disturbed by the claim made by Boko Ha ram on what they have been getting from ISIS. We know we will be able to contain them and we have proven that we can do it. We are very pleased that Turkey is in a position to assist us and has been strengthening our educational and health institutions,’’ Buhari was further quoted as saying.
The statement added that the two leaders also discussed the prospects of increasing their bilateral trade, which it said had exceeded $779 million in the first eight months of 2017.
“There are a lot of potentialities in terms of investments and a lot is being done in the educational and health sectors in Nigeria. These will be strengthened and I assure you that Nigeria is prepared to accept Turkish business people to come and explore more of Nigeria’s potentialities,’’ the statement quoted the Nigerian leader.
It added that Erdogan in his remarks, said Nigeria had great potentials and remained “a global actor in terms of economy, demographics and its peacekeeping records,” adding that Turkey was interested in investing in Nigeria’s electricity, refineries and gas sectors.