The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the African Union (AU) Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation, better known as the “Niamey Convention”.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada, briefed State House correspondents on Wednesday after the FEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

According to the minister, the convention aims to promote cross-border cooperation at local, sub-regional and regional levels.

Mr Dada said Nigeria initiated the convention during the conference of African ministers in charge of borders on May 29, 2012, in Niamey, Niger Republic and adopted it in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, in 2014.

“As I said, Nigeria initiated and spearheaded the drafting of the convention; subsequently, Nigeria signed the convention on January 29, 2017.

“What we simply did today was to present the convention to the council for its approval and ratification by the president.

“The convention harps on federal government’s foreign policy, which emphasises good neighbourliness”.

He said the convention equally intended to facilitate the delimitation, demarcation and reaffirmation of inter-state borders in conformity with mechanisms that the parties had agreed upon to the convention.

“This convention is aimed at facilitating a peaceful resolution of border disputes between member states,” he said.

The minister also explained that the convention promotes peace and stability, as well as an opportunity to share intelligence with Nigeria and its neighbours.

Mr Dada said the convention would enable Nigeria to achieve an integrated border management system.

(NAN)