Tinubu to attend Aqaba Process meeting in Rome on West Africa security
By: Zagazola Makama
President Bola Tinubu will on Sunday depart Abuja for Rome, Italy, to participate in the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government Level Meeting, which will focus on addressing the security crisis in West Africa.
The meeting, scheduled to begin on Oct. 14, will bring together Heads of State and Government, senior intelligence and military officials from African countries, as well as representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations to deliberate on the evolving security threats in the region.
The Aqaba Process, a counter-terrorism initiative launched in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan, is co-chaired by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Italian Government.
According to a statement by Mr Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the initiative acknowledges the complex security challenges confronting West Africa, including the expansion of terrorist networks, the crime-terror nexus, and the growing overlap between Sahel-based terrorism and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
The meeting will provide a platform for participants to share assessments of the current security landscape and strengthen regional and international cooperation to tackle cross-border threats.
It will also explore strategies to counter terrorism both on land and at sea, and to coordinate efforts to combat online radicalisation and disrupt digital networks that facilitate terrorist propaganda and recruitment.
President Tinubu is expected to hold bilateral meetings with other leaders on the sidelines of the plenary sessions to discuss joint approaches to addressing rising security challenges across the subregion.
He will be accompanied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Odumegwu–Ojukwu, the Minister of Defence, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb. Mohammed Mohammed, among other senior government officials.
