Buhari to attend Gulf of Guinea Summit…

President Muhammadu Buhari will today join other members of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) in Accra, Ghana, to participate in the Commission’s third Extraordinary Session.

A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said President Buhari is scheduled to participate and deliver remarks on strategies for strengthening peace and security in the fight against maritime-related crimes in the region.

The statement reads: “President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja for Accra on Tuesday, April 25, to attend the third Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC), convened by President Nana Akuffo-Ado of Ghana.

The president is scheduled to participate and deliver remarks at the high-level discussion on strategies for strengthening peace and security in the fight against maritime-related crimes in the region. As the immediate past Chair of the Assembly, President Buhari had championed collective efforts by Member-States of the region, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) and their partners to address and prevent piracy.

In June 2019, Nigeria’s National Assembly passed the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act, 2019 (POMO Act) which aims to prevent and suppress piracy, armed robbery and other unlawful acts against a ship.

The president will be accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, National Security Adviser (NSA) Maj.-Gen Babagana Monguno (rtd), Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Amb. Ahmed Abubakar, among other government officials.”