President Trump had a telephone conversation with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, expressing solidarity with the country amidst the COVID-19 challenge.
This was made known in a statement issued by Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President, on Tuesday, April 28, 2020. It reads:
“President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday afternoon received a telephone call from American President, Donald Trump, during which the two leaders commiserated with each other on fatalities in their countries, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
They also shared ideas on how to successfully combat the health emergency.
“President Buhari expressed condolences to the government and people of the United States over the fatalities recorded, and equally expressed worry at the high rate of deaths recorded across the world.
“The associated negative impacts of the pandemic on the world’s economy also came up for discussion.
“The Nigerian President lauded his American counterpart for the various initiatives adopted by his government to contain the further spread of the virus across the United States.
He indicated Nigeria’s readiness to cooperate with the United States to fight this common unseen enemy.
“President Buhari informed that Nigeria had taken a number of proactive measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19 across the country.
“The President welcomed the valuable friendship and expressed appreciation to President Trump for reaching out at this time.”
Previously, the United States had put Nigeria on its Special Watch List (SWL) for governments that have engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom, due to Boko Haram activities in the north-east, which he added was designated as “Entities of Particular Concern.”