Stable Libya key to healthy Lake Chad Basin, says Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, hosted Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya, Mohammed Younis Menfi in Abuja, where he stressed that a stable or unstable Libya has implications for countries in the Lake Chad Basin, including Nigeria.

“Republics of Chad and Niger have extensive borders with Libya, and they are our immediate neighbours. Whatever affects them affects us. The stability or instability of Libya will directly affect us,” he explained.

The Nigerian leader emphasised that the security of the most populous black nation remained topmost to him, noting: “Unless a country or institution is secure, there’s no way you can efficiently manage it.”

Responding, Menfi stated that the North African nation was fast evolving, observing: “And we now have one government, active on the ground. We are expelling the mercenaries and unifying the institutions.”

He said democratic elections would be held in due course, adding that the historical relationship between his country and Nigeria in the areas of oil and agriculture meant that both nations could not afford to ignore each other.