Jonathan set for Abidjan talks on Mali

Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan will travel to Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire tomorrow for an Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government ahead of the full deployment of the community’s troops to Mali.

President Jonathan will be accompanied to the meeting by the Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada and the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim.

The meeting is also expected to discuss the situation in Guinea-Bissau.

President Jonathan is due back in Abuja on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a contingent of 80 Nigerian troops departed for Mali on Thursday as part of a UN-mandated African force to help the country battle Islamists.

The soldiers left Kaduna airport in an Air Force cargo aircraft also loaded with military trucks, arms and ammunition, said the reporter at the airport.

Earlier Thursday, 76 paratroopers were airlifted from Port-harcourt,east of Nigeria.

A total of 155 soldiers will be airlifted between Thursday and Friday, defence spokesman navy Commander Mohammed Wadi told journalists. Nigeria’s total commitment will be about 900 troops.

“Eighty people are leaving today. About 80 others will leave tomorrow (Friday),” Wadi said before the flight took off.

The African force of over 5,000 troops is to be commanded by a Nigerian, Major General Shehu Usman Abdulkadir, previously his country’s chief of army standards and evaluation.

The first contingent of a planned 500 Togolese troops left for Mali earlier Thursday. Chad was also expected to send soldiers.

Abdulkadir and a Nigerian military technical team are already on the ground in Mali.