Posted by From LUCKY NWANKWERE, Abuja on
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has continued to play host to world leaders on solidarity visits since his swearing-in and take over of the reigns of power from former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday.
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has continued to play host to world leaders on solidarity visits since his swearing-in and take over of the reigns of power from former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday.
He received his Beninois counterpart, Boni Yayi in his office yesterday in the Presidential Villa, describing the visit as a 'mark of the excellent cooperation and brotherhood existing between Nigeria and Benin Republic. "
The president said, Yayi's visit, the first by any foreign leader to him after his inauguration, further confirmed that the two countries were 'excellent neighbours, fully integrated before colonialism separated us with artificial boundaries."
He recalled that the two countries, along with Togo and Ghana, had taken the right path towards full integration through the establishment of the Co-Prosperity Partnership Zone (COPAZ), which would bring the people of the countries even closer.
'Our aspirations and hopes will be realized through COPAZ, and I look forward to exploring more areas of cooperation with you," he further stated.
In his remarks, the Beninois leader said his 'vision of development for Benin is based on togetherness with Nigeria. Nigeria is our caretaker and no child can survive without its caretaker," he said.
He assured President Yar'Adua that his country would support all efforts at cooperation between the two nations and through COPAZ, adding 'my dream for Benin is that during your tenure, any Nigerian citizen should feel at home in Benin, and any Beninois should feel at home in Nigeria."
President Yayi said all Beninois were grateful to President Yar'Adua for visiting them first, after his election, and therefore asked him to also be the first foreign president to visit Nigeria after the inauguration.