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Conference on Boko Haram to await swearing in of Nigeria's president

Xinhua, April 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

The summit of West and Central African leaders on the war against Boko Haram that was planned to take place in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, has been postponed until the swearing in of Nigeria's President-elect Muhammadu Buhari.

The information was revealed on Monday by a source from Equatorial Guinea presidency which said the conference initially scheduled to take place on April 8, may wait till Buhari's swearing in later in May.

The information was equally confirmed over the weekend by a source from the UN Regional Office in Central Africa based in Libreville, Gabon, which also hosts the headquarters of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).

However, the information has not been confirmed officially by a government source.

ECCAS which is comprised of Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sao Tome and Principe and Chad, met in Yaounde on Feb. 16 for an extraordinary summit of its Peace and Security Council.

The summit approved immediate disbursement of 100 million U.S. dollars to Cameroon and Chad, the two member states currently involved in the fight against Boko Haram.

It further called for holding of a joint forum with the Economic Community of West African States, in which Nigeria is a member, to harmonize strategies for fighting against the terrorist group.

"Boko Haram is not a Central African problem. Central Africa is suffering from a problem that began in West Africa," said Daniel Elono, an ECCAS expert who spoke on Thursday during the regional body's meeting in Douala, Cameroon's commercial capital.

The Malabo forum will be crucial for operationalization of the plans to set up a regional force of 10,000 soldiers against Boko Haram. Endi