President Muhammadu Buhari says the African Union Peace Fund should be structured for the internal support arrangements within the continent and not as resources to subsidize the mandate of the United Nations Security Council. He said this at the high level meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council on the State of Peace and Security in Africa at the 33rd AU Summit on Saturday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The president, who said this in view of the Kigali and Johannesburg Assembly decisions, called for new strategies by the AU to effectively prevent, manage and resolve conflicts in the face of new circumstances and emerging challenges. “In this regard, my delegation will always fervently contest attempts to make Africa subsidize the primary responsibility of the UN as clearly provided in it Charter, ‘’ he said in a statement by his media aide, Garba Shehu. Buhari lauded the renewed vigour by ECOWAS member countries to mobilize its own resources to combat terrorism. The president, who also announced that Nigeria has fulfilled its financial obligations to the AU Peace Fund up to 2019, promised to continue investing on peace and security on the continent. On ECOWAS matters, Buhari said Nigeria was proud to continue to serve as a strong contributor to the peace roles played by the regional bloc. ‘‘In Burkina Faso, we (ECOWAS) pledged to mobilize one billion US dollars to address the challenges of insecurity in our region and the Sahel. In Guinea Bissau, ECOWAS successfully midwifed the general elections. ‘‘Nigeria along with ECOWAS member states led in the restoration of democracy and peace in the Gambia,’’ he said, while welcoming the collaborative leadership of the AU with other Regional Economic Communities in resolving conflicts on the continent. On security challenges in Africa, the President said it was regrettable that terrorism, violent extremism and other forms of vicious conflicts had continued to cause mayhem and untold crisis on the continent. ‘‘Nigeria condemns, in the strongest terms, the perpetrators of terrorism in Libya, the Sahel, Lake Chad Basin, and parts of the Horn of Africa. ‘‘We reiterate that efforts must continue to be pooled to mitigate this dreadful violence and secure the future of our continent,’’ he said. Buhari, who spoke on new strategies to resolve conflicts on the continent, said: ‘’The AU must strengthen its own capacity for mediation and develop an effective intervention roadmap.’’ He added that more emphasis should be placed on promoting national dialogue, reconciliation and social cohesion in order to rally all actors towards sustainable peace. Buhari also welcomed the decision of the AU Peace and Security Council to adopt the regional stabilization strategy for the Lake Chad Basin and the renewal of mandates of the Multi National Joint Task Force and the G5 Sahel Joint Force. He told the meeting that Nigeria was very encouraged by the resolution of the continent’s standing decision-making body for conflict prevention, management and resolution, on the Lake Chad Basin.
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