Presidential Research & Communications Unit

President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has described the Beninois President’s visit as a “mark of the excellent cooperation and brotherhood existing between Nigeria and Benin Republic”.

The President stated this while welcoming President Boni Yayi of Benin Republic who visited him at the State House, Abuja on May 31, the first by any foreign leader after his inauguration.

He noted that the visit further confirmed that the two countries were “excellent neighbours, fully integrated before colonialism separated us with artificial boundaries”. Adding 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 stated.

Earlier, President Boni Yayi said his “vision of development for Benin is based on cooperation 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 that “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.

Related Stories:

German Ambassador, others congratulate President-elect, Umar Yar’adua

President Yar’adua receives Korean Vice President