No room for any foreign military base in Nigeria — Minister
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President Bola Tinubu’s government has said it is not considering establishing any foreign military base in Nigeria.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Mohammed Idris on Monday in a statement, dismissed as unfounded reports that the government was plotting to establish a military base in the country.
Though, the rebuttal is coming after some northern leaders in a letter to President Bola Tinubu and leadership of the National Assembly alleged that the American and French governments have been lobbying Nigeria, along with other Gulf of Guinea nations, to sign new defence pact that would allow them to redeploy their troops, sacked from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
The leaders of the region expressed worry that Nigeria, being the most strategically located among the Gulf of Guinea countries, may succumb to this pressure, thereby jeopardising its defence and internal security.
They argued that the primary goal of these bases, squarely to combat terrorism in the Sahel, has not been achieved, as terrorism has only festered since those camps were set up.
They also cautioned against compromising Nigeria’s sovereignty and independence for short-term strategic alliances that may have dire long-term consequences.
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But the Minister in the statement while dismissing the rumour said, “The Federal Government is aware of false alarms being raised in some quarters alleging discussions between the Federal Government of Nigeria and some foreign countries on the siting of foreign military bases in the country.
“We urge the general public to totally disregard this falsehood. The Federal Government is not in any such discussion with any foreign country. We have neither received nor are we considering any proposals from any country on the establishment of any foreign military bases in Nigeria.
“The Nigerian government already enjoys foreign cooperation in tackling ongoing security challenges, and the President remains committed to deepening these partnerships, with the goal of achieving the national security objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda.”
