Tinubu Welcomes Benin, Niger, Guinea-Bissau Counterparts, Says Community ‘Fully Equipped’ To Combat Terrorism

President Bola Tinubu met with his counterparts Patrice Talon of Benin, Mohamed Bazoum of Niger and Umaro Embaló of Guinea-Bissau on Tuesday to reportedly discuss security and economic development-related issues in the sub-region.

Talon, Bazoum and Embaló's visit to Nigeria came less than 10 days after Tinubu became the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

After welcoming the African leaders, President Tinubu held a private meeting at the Aso Rock Villa with them. The government had not disclosed the agenda of the meeting before. However, the African leaders were expected to discuss security and economic development-related issues in the sub-region.

Following the meeting, Tinubu addressed the journalists and said, "Our community is fully equipped to combat this menace from our region. The matter of raising funds is not a challenge for us, and we have all the tools required," Punch reported.

The Nigerian president was asked about the financial strategy against terrorism and the security campaign in the country, to which he responded, "We have complete confidence in our financial planning and engineering capabilities to secure the necessary resources to tackle terrorism and insecurity."

The president of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, who also attended the meeting, said, "Regarding the political situation in the sub-region, the leaders have reviewed the transition in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea."

"Regarding the transition in those three countries, the leaders have taken the decision to re-engage the three countries at the highest level," he continued. "A member of the Troika, in the person of His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Benin, will undertake a mission to these three countries on behalf of the heads of state. That mission will be undertaken shortly."

According to Touray, the African leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to the expeditious transition to democracy in the three countries.

The president of Nigeria took to Twitter on the same day to share a glimpse of their meeting. In the photos, all leaders can be seen posing together for the camera.

"Held crucial talks today with esteemed presidents of Benin, Niger, Guinea Bissau, and the ECOWAS Commission President," Tinubu wrote alongside the photos. "We're committed to tackling West African security concerns head-on with a new, measurable approach, while simultaneously strengthening democracy."

ECOWAS was founded in 1975, comprising a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa, including Cabo Verde, Mali, Senegal, Liberia, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Ghana, and Togo.

Considering issues in West African countries, they are dealing with several problems, including political instability, economic challenges, armed conflicts and terrorism, food insecurity, health issues, illegal trading, corruption, and lack of infrastructure.