PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu will on Sunday, October 12, depart Abuja for Rome, Italy, to attend the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government meeting.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, sent to News Point Nigeria the meeting will focus on addressing the escalating security crisis in West Africa.
The statement said the meeting, scheduled to begin on October 14, will bring together Heads of State, senior intelligence and defence officials from across Africa, as well as representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, to discuss the region’s evolving security challenges.
The Aqaba Process, a counter-terrorism initiative launched in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan and co-chaired by Jordan and Italy, seeks to strengthen global cooperation against terrorism and violent extremism.
It said this year’s session will examine the growing threats in West Africa, including the spread of terrorist networks, the crime-terror nexus, and the overlap between land-based insurgencies in the Sahel and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
“At the meeting, participants will exchange assessments of the current security landscape in West Africa and foster collaboration between regional and international partners to address cross-border security challenges.
“Participants will also develop strategies to counter the terror threat on land and the sea. The meeting will discuss ideas on how to coordinate efforts to combat online radicalisation and disrupt digital networks that facilitate terrorist propaganda and recruitment.
“In addition to attending the plenary sessions of the Aqaba meeting, President Tinubu will hold bilateral talks with other leaders to explore ways of addressing the rising security challenges across the subregion,” the statement added.
The statement said the President will be accompanied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu–Ojukwu, the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed, and other senior government officials.
