Northern leaders urge Tinubu to reject relocation of expelled US, French troops from Sahel to Nigeria

Northern leaders have urged President Bola Tinubu and members of the 10th Assembly to reject the request from the U.S. and French governments to relocate their military bases from the Sahel region to Nigeria.

In an open letter on Friday, the northern leaders cautioned the Federal government not to succumb to the pressures of hosting military bases expelled from Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali in Nigeria.

According to the letter, the American and French governments have allegedly been aggressively lobbying Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea countries to sign a new defence pact allowing them to redeploy their troops expelled from the Sahel region.

The letter was signed by Professor Abubakar Siddique Mohammed of the Centre for Democratic Development, Research and Training (CEDDERT), Zaria; Professor Kabiru Sulaiman Chafe, a former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources,  representing the Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP), Kaduna; Professor Attahiru Muhammadu Jega, a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Others include Professor Jibrin Ibrahim from the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in Abuja, Auwal Musa (Rafsanjani) of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CCISLAC) in Abuja, and Y. Z. Ya’u from the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) in Kano.

They expressed concern that Nigeria, strategically located among the Gulf of Guinea countries, may succumb to the pressure, jeopardising its defence and internal security.

Meanwhile, as of press time, the President and the National Assembly members have yet to comment on the open letter.

About The Author

Mayowa Durosinmi

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Mayowa Durosinmi is a Nigerian investigative reporter for West Africa Weekly with reports focusing on politics, human rights, security and health in West Africa and the Sahel region.

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