Chairman of Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum, H.E. Mai Mala Buni, Begins Two-Day Tour of Boko Haram-Affected Territories with Visit to LCBC, MNJTF Headquarters

N’Djamena, Chad – His Excellency Mai Mala Buni, Executive Governor of Yobe State, Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Chairman of the Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum, has commenced a two-day official tour of the eight territories most affected by the Boko Haram insurgency across the Lake Chad Basin region.

The tour, which forms part of ongoing efforts to advance the implementation of the Regional Strategy for Stabilization, Recovery, and Resilience of Areas Affected by Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin Region (RS SRR), is also intended to assess progress made on the key resolutions and strategic commitments adopted at the 5th Edition of the Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum, held in Maiduguri, Nigeria, from 29 to 31 January 2025.

Governor Buni opened his itinerary with a courtesy visit to the Headquarters of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in N’Djamena, Chad, where he received briefings on the current state of stabilization, security, and development efforts across the Basin.

Briefings on Stabilization and Security Progress

During the visit, officials of the LCBC and the MNJTF briefed the Chairman on the status of implementation of the RS SRR, as well as on ongoing military and civilian efforts to counter the continued threat posed by Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) across the region. The briefings also covered progress on the Community-Based Reconciliation and Reintegration (CBRR) Policy, the operationalization of the Special Multi-Partner Delivery Fund (SMDF) and the Nexus Funding Facility (NFF), and coordination between member states and the MNJTF’s troop-contributing countries Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and Benin.

As Chairman of the Governors’ Forum, His Excellency Mai Mala Buni assumed the leadership of the Forum following the 5th Edition of the meeting, succeeding Her Excellency Ildjima Abdraman, Governor of Hadjer-Lamis Province, Chad, who steered the Forum between 2023 and 2024.

A Tour Rooted in Regional Commitment

The two-day tour will take the Chairman across the two territories most affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria, in furtherance of the Forum’s commitment to strengthen cross-border security and accelerating recovery and development programming in communities in the Lake Chad Basin.

The visit reflects the continued commitment of the Governors of the eight affected territories ensuring political leadership and support for the effective implementation of the RS SRR2.0, as recognized in the Final Communiqué of the 5th Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum.

The Executive Secretary of the LCBC, Amb. Ibrahim Babani, welcomed the Chairman’s visit as a demonstration of the sustained high-level political will required to consolidate the gains made across the Basin.

“Peace in the Basin is not a dream — it is a duty we owe our people. This visit by our Chairman reaffirms the unity of purpose that has always driven our progress,” Amb. Babani stated.

The Lake Chad Basin Commission and the MNJTF reaffirmed their readiness to continue working closely with the Governors’ Forum, member states, and regional and international partners to ensure the full implementation of the RS SRR2.0 and the resolutions of the 5th Governors’ Forum.