President flies to Jordan for counter-terrorism summit

President Muhammadu Buhari has left the shores of Nigeria for Jordan to attend a 2-day counter-terrorism summit tagged Aqaba Retreat.

The summit will take place in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba between December 2 and December 3, 2017, hosted by King Abdullah II of Jordan.

The president's departure was announced by the presidency's official Twitter account on Friday, December 1.

The post read, "President Muhammadu Buhari has left Abuja for Jordan to attend the #AqabaRetreat Counter-Terrorism Summit from 2-3 December 2017."

In a press statement signed by the president's Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, on Thursday, November 30, he revealed that the president will meet with other Heads of State to collaborate on measures to neutralise the activities of insurgents.

The statement read, "At the meeting, the President is expected to share Nigeria's experience on terrorism and its spread across West Africa, with a view to soliciting more support for pre-emptive measures that will neutralise the activities of insurgents in the sub-region.

"The Nigerian leader will also hold bilateral meetings with some Heads of State to strengthen relations.

"President Buhari and his delegation will attend the official dinner to be hosted by King Abdullah II in honour of visiting Heads of State and their delegations."

The president's delegation includes Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola; Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello; Niger State governor, Abubakar Bello; Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali; Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu; Minister of Foreign Affairs; Geoffrey Onyeama; National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno; and the Acting Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mohammed Dawuda.

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Cote d'Ivoire trip

The president's trip to Jordan comes barely 24 hours after returning from the 5th European Union-African Union (EU-AU) summit that took place in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire between November 28 and 29.

During his summit, the president had high profile bilateral meetings with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel; Ivorien president, Alassane Ouattara; Ghanaian president, Nana Akufo-Addo; and Vice President of The Gambia, Fatoumatta Tambajang.

He also held an interactive session with members of the Nigerian community in Abidjan where he talked about the illegal migration of Nigerians to Europe and condemned the slave trade going on in Libya where Nigerians are being abused and