As Peter Obi visits same city for spiritual solution 

President Bola Tinubu was billed to depart Abuja yesterday for Rome, Italy, to participate in the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government Meeting, which will focus on the security crisis in West Africa.
 
This is as the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, says he has taken Nigeria’s challenges before God during a spiritual pilgrimage to Rome.
 
The Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government meeting, scheduled to begin tomorrow, will bring together Heads of State and Government, senior intelligence and military officials from across Africa, as well as representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, to deliberate on evolving security challenges in the region.
 
Launched in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan, the Aqaba Process is a counter-terrorism initiative co-chaired by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Italian Government. 
 
It addresses the complex security threats facing West Africa, including the expansion of terrorist networks, the crime-terror nexus, and the growing overlap between land-based terrorism in the Sahel and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
 
Discussions at the meeting will centre on exchanging security assessments, strengthening collaboration between regional and international partners, and developing strategies to counter terrorism on land and at sea.  
 
Participants will also explore ways to combat online radicalisation and disrupt digital networks used for terrorist propaganda and recruitment.
 
The President will be accompanied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu; the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar; the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed; and other senior government officials.

Obi, who had earlier visited the United States to speak at the Friendship Club and the First Ubuntu African Youth Assembly in Washington, said he travelled to Rome to join his wife for prayers dedicated to Nigeria’s peace, unity, and renewal.
 
Marking the Jubilee Year, a Catholic celebration held every 25 years, Obi said he and his wife offered prayers of thanksgiving for Nigeria’s unity despite decades of trials, and sought divine forgiveness and mercy upon the nation.
 
They also prayed for the emergence of selfless and compassionate leaders who would govern with integrity, competence, and genuine concern for citizens’ welfare.
 
At St. Peter’s Basilica, the couple attended the Papal General Audience and later met with Pope Leo XIV, whom Obi appealed for prayers for Nigeria.
 
Reflecting on the journey, Obi said the experience strengthened his faith in God’s providence and renewed his hope for the nation’s future.