Nigerian Senate approve troops deployment to Mali

The approval was sequel to a letter from President Goodluck Jonathan to the Senate requesting it to approve the deployment of 1,200 Nigerian troops to Mali for a peace keeping operation.

 
The President’s letter to the Senate, dated 16th January, 2013 and tagged, “Notification to the Senate on the deployment of members of the Armed Forces on a limited combat duty to Mali and request for consent”, was read by the Senate president, David Mark, for consideration in the floor of yesterday’s plenary.
 
In the letter, President Jonathan said, “the deployment of Nigerian troops was in line with Security Council resolution 2085 (2012) and is necessitated by the need to combat armed and terrorist groups including Al-Quaida in the Islamic Magrb (AQIM) and their activities, as well as the proliferation of weapons, from within and outside the region with grave consequences on the security and stability in the northern parts of Mali and beyond, including Nigeria”.
 
“In view of the foregoing, the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is respectfully invited to exercise its powers under Section 4 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,1999 as amended and consent to the deployment of a contingent of 1,200 members  of the armed forces to serve in the African-led force (AFRISMA) in Mali on limited combat duties”, the president said in the letter.
 
He regretted that Nigeria was at the moment, facing what he described as “daunting security challenges”, noting that given its proximity to the Sahel region, the crisis in Mali, if not brought under control, may spill over to Nigeria and other West African countries with negative consequences on “our collective security, political stability and development efforts.
 
“As a responsible member of the international community and given our recent experiences with insurgency and terrorist activities especially in the northern parts of the country, I felt compelled to urgently approve the Nigerian troops”, he explained.
 
The senators who had reconvened to consider the president’s request, after they had gone into executive session to look into the issue, failed short of directing President Goodluck Jonathan to deploy Nigerian economic experts to enter into agreement with the Malian authorities on what would be the country’s economic gain after restoration of peace.
 
After extensive deliberation, the President's request was given a unanimous approval