The widely popular Cable News Network has affirmed the news of the phone conversation between Presidents Buhari and Trump.
President Donald Trump and President Muhammadu Buhari
President Donald Trump has been increasingly chatting with other world leaders during his first weeks in office. On Monday he turned his attention to Africa.
Trump spent Monday morning calling two of the continent's most prominent leaders, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and South African President Jacob Zuma, to discuss combating terrorism, trade relations and other issues.
According to
Buhari's aide, Femi Adesina, Trump assured the Nigerian president that the US is ready to help obtain
"a new deal in helping Nigeria in terms of military weapons to combat terrorism."
In a statement to CNN, Adesina also said, "President Trump encouraged President Buhari to keep up the good work he is doing, and also commended him for the efforts made in rescuing 24 of the Chibok Girls and the strides being taken by the Nigerian military."
In 2014 nearly 300 girls were kidnapped from a boarding school in Chibok by terror group Boko Haram. Most remain missing, although the terror group released a group of them last October in a deal brokered in part by Nigerian authorities.
Trump also invited President Buhari to Washington at a mutually convenient date. Buhari, who congratulated Trump on his election, is currently in London on an extended break while he awaits the results of unspecified medical tests.
After his call with Buhari, President Trump also requested and completed a phone call with South Africa's Zuma.