Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari has requested for the relocation of the US Command Africa Headquarters ( AFRICOM ) from Germany.
President Buhari made the request during a virtual meeting with the US secretary of states – Anthony Blinken on Tuesday.
AFRICOM whose headquarters is located in stuttgart germany, is one of the 11 Department of defence combatant commands of the United States. They focus on addressing Security challenges affecting African countries.
President Muhammadu Buhari through his Spokesman Femi Adesina released the statement below :
The security challenges in Nigeria remains of great concerns to us and impacted more negatively, by existing complex negative pressure in the sahel, central and west africa as well as the lake chad region .
Compounded as the situation remains, Nigeria and her security forces remain resolutely committed to containing them and addressing their root causes. The support of important and strategic partners like United States cannot be overstated as the consequences of insecurity will affect all nations hence the imperative for concerted cooperation and collaboration of all nations to overcome these challenges.
In this connection, and considering the growing security challenges in West and Central Africa, Gulf of Guinea, Lake Chad region and the Sahel, weighing heavily on Africa, it underscores the need for the United States to consider re-locating AFRICOM Headquarters from Stuttgart, Germany to Africa and near the Theatre of Operation.”