NIGERIA DASHES $300,000 TO SOUTH SUDAN ARMY

South Sudan People’s Defence Forces.

Nigeria has pledged $300,000 (N108,450,000) donation to the unified South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF), it was learnt yesterday. The support is towards ending the conflict in South Sudan.

It is expected to be applied to the provision of food items and medicines to the Cantonment Sites, where the different armies from the African Union (AU) are being selected, trained and deployed as Unified South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF).

The Nation reports that Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama made the donation while on a two-day special visit to Juba, South Sudan, where he represented President Muhammadu Buhari A statement said the commitment is to reaffirm Nigeria’s support to the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).

Onyeama was received on arrival by South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayrdit.

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They held discussions on the status of the implementation of the R-ARCSS. In a separate meeting with the South Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Awut Deng, the two to envoys explored options for the operationalisation of the General Cooperation Agreement signed in January 2019 between Nigeria and South Sudan. Onyeama also held a Meeting with the Chairman and Leadership of the National Pre-Transitional Committee (NPTC) – the implementing institution for the pre-transitional activities – and signed an MoU relating to establishing lasting peace in the country. Earlier, the minister had paid respects to the memory of the founder of modern South Sudan, Dr. John Garang, where he laid a wreath at his Mausoleum.

He also visited Rebecca Nyadeng Garang, widow of the late leader and his children at their family home. Onyeama engaged with the Leadership of the Sudan People Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) led by Dr Riek Machar; the Ambassadors and Representatives of African States based in Juba; and received a briefing from the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) – the lead Institution for monitoring and evaluating the Peace Process-; and finally held a town hall meeting in the Chancery premises with Nigerians in South Sudan. 

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