President
Goodluck Jonathan has disclosed that Nigeria has spent $34million (about
N7billion) on the immediate deployment of troops and logistics support to stop
the activities of Islamic terrorists in Mali. He also made an additional
$5million pledge to further help that country.
Jonathan stated
this yesterday at the donors’ conference held at the end of the 20th Ordinary
Session of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Nigeria had
already deployed 900 combat soldiers and 300 Air Force personnel to Mali as
part of the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA).
The sum of $5.5
million out of the N7 billion, according to him, had been used for the
re-construction and refurbishment of a number of medical clinics in the
military barracks of some of the Malian Defence and Security Forces as part of
the Security Sector Reform (SSR) intervention.
Jonathan
explained that about $2million of the said amount had been spent on
humanitarian relief and supplies, while the additional $5million pledge, which
was in response to the call for more donations, was a further expression of
Nigeria’s commitment to the international effort to restore peace in Mali.
The AU had set a
target of $50 million, but the total pledges announced at the end of the
conference was $455.53 million, apart from other commitments made by the donors
to contribute to the training of the Malian Defence Forces and other forms of assistance.
He noted that
Nigeria was part of the joint initiative being undertaken by the African Union
(AU), Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union
(EU) and the United Nations (UN) aimed at mobilizing adequate financial resources
in support of the Malian Defense and Security Forces (MDSF) as well as
African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA).
The president
added that though this initiative would be considered as rather belated, given
the rapidly unfolding events in Mali, it was better to start now than to wait
even a day longer.
“The
collaboration between these four organizations on this initiative is a clear
demonstration of international solidarity, sympathy and cooperation required
for a definitive resolution of the Malian crisis which has serious
international consequences”, he noted.
He recalled that,
at the political level, he had visited Mali in his capacity as co-mediator, on
October 19, 2012, to urge national consultations and dialogue in Bamako, the
Malian capital, with a view to promoting a united political front on the basis
of the ECOWAS roadmap for the resolution of the crisis in Mali.
He gave the
assurance that Nigeria’s support for Mali for the long haul, saying, “For this
reason, the pledge I make today (of $5million) is a further expression of our
commitment to a worthy international effort.”
He advised that
the funds generated in the Donors’ Conference should be used not only for
defence and security purposes, but also for the provision of necessary
humanitarian support, adding that the ultimate resolution of the Malian crisis
rested with the implementation of the ECOWAS peace plan, which provides for the
restoration of constitutional order and promotion of democracy in the country.
On his part,
chairman of the AU and Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Haile Mariam Desalegn, said
the donors’ conference would assist to mobilise the necessary resources to
maintain the gains and re-energize the political process.
Source:
Leadership
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