Buhari hosts Beninese President, Patrice Talon, at Aso Villa

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President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met behind closed doors with President Patrice Talon of Benin Republic at the State House, Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Beninese leader, who arrived at the forecourt of the presidential villa at 11.09 a.m., was received by President Buhari.

The agenda of the meeting between the two leaders, who immediately went into a closed-door meeting, was unknown to newsmen.

NAN, however, gathered that Talon, who last met with the Nigerian leader in June 2019, was in the villa to thank Buhari for ordering the re-opening of Nigerian borders in Dec. 2020.

Buhari had in Aug. 2019 ordered closure of Nigeria’s land borders to check smuggling of rice and other foodstuffs as well as small arms and light weapons.

The president and the visiting Beninese leader are also expected to discuss security and bilateral matters as well as other sub-regional issues.