President Bola Tinubu would depart Abuja today, Sunday, October 12, for Rome, the capital of Italy, to participate in the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government Level Meeting, with special focus on the security crisis in West Africa.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga.
According to him, the meeting, which would begin on October 14, would bring together Heads of State and Government, senior intelligence and military officials from African countries, and representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations to discuss the evolving security challenges in West Africa.
The Aqaba Process Meeting is a counter-terrorism initiative launched by King Abdullah II of Jordan in 2015. It is co–chaired by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Italian Government.
It recognises the complex security challenges confronting West Africa, including the expansion of terrorist networks, the growing crime-terror nexus and the increasing overlap between land-based terrorism in the Sahel and the maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
Onanuga said at the meeting, participants would exchange assessments of the current security landscape in West Africa and foster collaboration between regional and international partners to address cross-border security challenges.
He said participants would 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, the SA said the President Tinubu will hold bilateral talks with other leaders to explore ways of addressing the rising security challenges across the subregion.
The statement said the President would 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 (NIA), Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed, and other senior government officials.