President Muhammadu Buhari says regular meetings among the countries that make up the Gulf of Guinea Commission are a critical route toward achieving peace and security in the region.
He spoke Tuesday for the last time as Nigeria’s president at the third Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC), in Accra, Ghana.
He said the theme of the session ‘Building a Safe, Secure and Prosperous Gulf of Guinea Region for Sustainable Development’ was quite apt and significant towards addressing the challenges in the region.
He assured of Nigeria’s commitment to fighting maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea, urging member countries to enact laws against piracy and other criminal acts as Nigeria had done.
Buhari, according to a statement by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, said: “Nigeria considers the effective and optimal function of the GGC as strategic to the global security interests in the Gulf region. These commitments include addressing issues of piracy, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, protection of marine resources as well as irregular migration to the region.”
In his welcome address, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, the chairperson of the assembly, reminded delegates of the challenges the commission faced and enjoined member states to promptly discharge their financial obligations to enable it to fulfill her statutory responsibilities.
