As a follow-up to the Federal Government officials’ engagement with their United States (U.S.) counterparts over the labelling of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and threats by President Donald Trump, security talks have been scheduled between the two countries.
The U.S. is expected to support Nigeria in battling the escalating insecurity in parts of the country.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has raised a team led by National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to discuss with U.S. officials.
Other members of the delegation are Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar; Minister of Defence, Mohammed Abubakar Badaru; Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; and Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr. Bernard Doro.
Also on the team are the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Olufemi Oluyede; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed; and Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement that Ms. Idayat Hassan of the NSA Office and Mr. Paul Alabi of the Nigerian Embassy in Washington will man the secretariat of the working group.
The United States-Nigeria Joint Working Group is a bilateral mechanism for strengthening collaboration between both countries in addressing Nigeria’s security challenges, an official said last night.
The presidential approval followed last week’s high-level engagements in Washington, DC, where a Nigerian delegation, led by Ribadu, held extensive talks with senior US government officials.
The creation of the joint working group was one of the key outcomes of those meetings.
Onanuga said the Ribadu team would also be supported by a multi-stakeholder team drawn from security, diplomatic, defence, and humanitarian agencies.
The members of the team will oversee the implementation of bilateral agreements, he added.
Onanuga said President Tinubu had urged the newly constituted team to “work assiduously” with their U.S. counterparts to ensure the smooth operationalisation of all agreements reached during the talks and to strengthen cooperation across multiple sectors.
He said the Joint Working Group is expected to fast-track the coordination of intelligence sharing, operational support, humanitarian response, and other bilateral commitments aimed at bolstering Nigeria’s national security architecture.
The CPC labelling of Nigeria was premised on the complaint by Christian leaders who alleged Christian genocide, a claim the Federal Government has disputed.
Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, who faulted the claim, lamented the misunderstanding of the Nigerian security situation by Trump, despite concerted efforts by the Tinubu Administration to tackle terrorism and banditry.
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