Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The German Government, has stepped up its contribution to the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Regional Stabilisation Facility (RSF) for the Lake Chad Region to €40 million (18 Billion Naira).
The development followed its additional donation of €15 million to the project and an envisaged payment of a further €15 million in 2021.
The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Abuja, in a statement made available to Daily Sun, said: “The government of Germany has released an additional contribution of 15 Mio. EUR to the Regional Stabilisation Facility for the Lake Chad region. Together with an envisaged payment of a further 15 Mio. EUR in 2021, Germany’s support to the Facility will total 40 Mio. EUR (18 Billion Naira).”
The German Government further said the key aim of the Regional Stabilisation Facility was to improve safety, restore essential infrastructure and provide livelihood opportunities in communities affected by violent conflict in the Lake Chad region.
“To that effect, the program works closely with communities in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. In Nigeria, the RSF operates in seven communities across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States, where German contributions will total 13 Mio. EUR (5.9 Billion Naira). A key component of the engagement is civil-military cooperation at both local and state levels to enable lasting stabilization results,” the German Government said.
The Regional Stabilisation Facility is a financing facility developed by the UNDP, with support from the German Government, as well as the European Union, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
It was conceived as a regional instrument to facilitate the implementation of the Regional Stabilisation Strategy (RSS) of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and African Union.
The RSS sought to restore security and bring relief to communities affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.
The total German investment in the Regional Stabilisation Facility will amount to 40 Mio. EUR (18 Billion Naira).
Following the announcement, German Ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs. Birgitt Ory, said: “The Regional Stabilisation Facility for Lake Chad is an offer to our Nigerian partners to work jointly toward improved civil-military cooperation and renewed stabilisation partnerships involving all actors: the national government, the governors, security forces and civil society. Together, we join efforts to build partnerships for lasting peace and stability.”
