PRESIDENT
JONATHAN TO CONFER WITH AFRICAN LEADERS ON PIRACY IN GULF OF GUINEA
President Goodluck Jonathan
will travel to Yaounde, Cameroun, tomorrow to participate in the Summit of West
and Central African Heads of State and Government on Maritime Security in the
Gulf of Guinea which opens there on Monday, June 24, 2013.
The summit has been convened
against the background of rising incidents of piracy in the resource-rich Gulf
of Guinea.
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President Jonathan will join
other Heads of State of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS)
and the Economic Community of Central Africa States (ECCAS) in the Camerounian capital
to deliberate on new proposals and a joint action plan to tackle piracy and
maritime criminality in the gulf.
Documents to be considered and
ratified by Heads of State at the Summit include a Memorandum of Agreement
among ECOWAS, ECCAS and the Gulf of Guinea Commission on maritime safety and
security in West and Central Africa, the policy statements of the Heads of
State and Government on maritime safety and security, as well as a Code of
Conduct on the fight against piracy, armed robbery and illegal maritime
activities.
It is expected that at the
conclusion of the summit, legal instruments for cooperation on maritime
security in the Gulf of Guinea will be adopted by participating heads of state
and government.
The legal instruments and the
Memorandum of Agreement on joint prevention and repression of illegal
activities in the gulf will establish a concrete basis for the two regional
blocs to share intelligence, conduct joint patrols and jointly repress piracy in
their maritime domain.
President Jonathan will be
accompanied to the summit by the Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, the
Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro, the Minister of Transport, Alhaji Idris
Umar, the Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada, the Chief of
Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Joseph Ezeoba and the Director-General of the Nigeria
Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi.
The President will also hold
bi-lateral talks with President Paul Biya on bilateral issues such as border
security and the welfare of Nigerians living in Cameroun.
He will meet with the Nigerian community in Cameroun
before returning to Abuja on Tuesday, June 25, 2013.
Reuben
Abati
Special
Adviser to the President
(Media
& Publicity)
June
22, 2013
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