President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday met with security chiefs over an undisclosed agenda at the Presidential Villa in Abuja to discuss national security issues.
The President presided over the security meeting ahead of his departure for Rome today Saturday for the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV.
None of the participants would divulge the subject deliberated upon.
Present at the meeting were the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru; the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; and the Director General of the Department of State Services, Mr. Oluwatosin Ajayi. Also in attendance were the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar; Chief of Defence Intelligence, Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel Undiandeye; and Deputy Inspector General of Police, Sadiq Idris Abubakar.
Although the details of the meeting were not clear at as press time, the deliberations might not be unconnected with the resurgence of insecurity in some parts of the country.
In the recent past, security operatives have been battling with various insurgents across the country, especially in some parts of the North.
The meeting is also coming ahead of the President’s scheduled visit to Rome on Saturday, where he will attend the inauguration mass of Pope Leo XIV, following an invitation from the Vatican.
Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday disclosed that President Tinubu will join global dignitaries and senior Catholic clergy for the solemn mass marking the beginning of the pontificate of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV—the 267th Bishop of Rome and new head of the Roman Catholic Church.
In a formal invitation delivered by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican emphasized the significance of President Tinubu’s presence “at this moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and a world plagued by numerous tensions and conflicts.”
The President will be accompanied to Rome by a high-level delegation, including Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja; Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos; and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese.
