President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Babagana Kingibe as his Special Envoy with Cabinet Rank Status to Chad and the Lake Chad Basin Region.
This was disclosed Monday evening, in a statement, by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha.
According to the statement, the appointment was in fulfilment of Buhari’s promise to aid Chad Republic in its journey towards achieving a seamless transition back to democratic rule within 18 months as promised by Mahamat Deby Itno, President of the Transitional Military Council of Chad.
The statement said the appointment, which is a cabinet rank status, would require Kingibe to, among other things, monitor developments in Chad, collaborate with members of the Lake Chad Basin Commission who have similar vision of restoring peace and security to Chad.
“President Muhammadu Buhari, has approved the appointment of Babagana Kingibe, as his Special Envoy with Cabinet Rank Status, to Chad and the Lake Chad Basin Region.
“This appointment of a Special Envoy by the President is also in consonance with the resolution of the Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Lake Chad Basin Commission Member Countries, on the situation in Chad on the 25th of May, 2021.
“The Special Envoy will amongst others:
(i) Monitor developments in Chad and the Lake Chad Basin Region;
(ii) aid reconciliation and seamless progress towards return to democratic rule at the end of the current Transitional Military Council’s rule;
(iii) Collaborate with member countries and partners in the region with similar initiatives to restore stability, promote peace and, security; and
(iv) Promote any other initiative ancillary to the restoration of peace and security in Chad, the Northeast Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin Region.
“Buhari has, by this appointment, demonstrated the determination of Nigeria to lead regional security efforts that will stabilise the Lake Chad Basin Region, bring peace to Chad and ultimately eliminate the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East zone of Nigeria.
“This is also a fulfilment of the President’s promise to Deby Itno, the President of the Transitional Military Council of Chad, to support a seamless progress towards return to democratic rule, when he visited Nigeria in May, 2021
“The Special Envoy, Kingibe, is an accomplished multi-lingual diplomat, who had at various times served the nation as Federal Permanent Secretary, Secretary to the Constituent Assembly, Cabinet Minister and Secretary to the Government of the Federation. He had also participated in previous Nigeria-led Chadian reconciliation talks (Kano 1 & II as well as Lagos 1 & II),” the statement reads.
The Nation
