President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, received former President Goodluck Jonathan, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
A statement by Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, said while receiving the former leader, Buhari emphasized that Nigeria will continue to be committed to promoting peace and harmony among ECOWAS countries.
The former Nigerian leader, who is ECOWAS Special Envoy on the situation in Mali, had briefed President Buhari on the face-off between Mali and Cote D’Ivoire over detained Ivorian soldiers.
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About 49 Ivorian soldiers had been detained in Mali for ‘unlawful entry,’ and only the three females in the team have been released, leaving 46.
The development is threatening a rupture in the relationship between the two countries.
Cote D’Ivoire has condemned the act as ‘hostage taking,’ and says it may take action, hence the need for intervention of ECOWAS leaders, as advocated by the Special Envoy, former President Jonathan.
President Buhari, after receiving the briefings, pledged an initiative from Nigeria, towards immediate resolution of the impasse.
