President Bola Tinubu has returned to Abuja following his participation in the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government Meeting held in Rome, Italy.
The development was confirmed in a statement issued on Saturday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
The Aqaba Process, a counter-terrorism initiative launched in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan, was co-hosted this year by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Government of Italy. The 2025 edition focused on strengthening global partnerships against terrorism and violent extremism, with particular emphasis on the security situation in West Africa.
According to the statement, the high-level meeting took place on Wednesday, October 15, at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome. It was attended by several world leaders, including King Abdullah II of Jordan, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and the Presidents of Nigeria, Chad, Paraguay, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Other notable participants included Azouz Nasri, President of Algeria’s Upper House, as well as representatives from Côte d’Ivoire, Kazakhstan, Mauritania, Senegal, and Uzbekistan. Security experts and special envoys were also present at the closed-door sessions.
On the sidelines of the summit, President Tinubu held bilateral meetings with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and U.S. Senior Adviser on Arab and African Affairs, Massad Boulos.
He also met with the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to discuss efforts to promote interfaith harmony in Nigeria. The discussions reportedly addressed misinformation portraying Nigeria as intolerant of religious diversity.
