Buhari will on Monday attend the Joint ECOWAS/ECCAS Summit, which will deliberate on common security threats to countries in West Africa and members of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS)

Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye and Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari will today leave for Lome, Republic of Togo, to participate in two high-level meetings.

According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari Governors Ben Ayade and Abubakar Bello of Cross River and Niger States, respectively, will accompany the president to the meeting.

Others on the delegation are Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali; Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Danbazau; and the Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah.

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno; the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin; the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Abubakar; and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, are also in the President’s delegation.

The President will participate in an interactive session at the Nigerian embassy with the Nigerian community based in Togo on arrival. Buhari will on Monday attend the Joint ECOWAS/ECCAS Summit, which will deliberate on common security threats to countries in West Africa and members of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) with a view to forging concerted strategies in tackling the menace of terrorism, trans-border crimes and other forms of violent extremism. Buhari had expressed support for the proposed ECOWAS/ECCAS Summit when he received the current Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Faure Gnassingbe of Togo on June 29, 2018, in Katsina. According to him, “terrorism now transcends international boundaries and no country can combat the scourge alone.”

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While in Lome, the Nigerian delegation will also participate in a meeting on a Single Currency for ECOWAS with the deadline of 2020. Being the largest economy not only in West Africa but also on the continent, Nigeria is playing a leadership role in this subregional aspiration.