President Bola Tinubu on Friday held a closed-door meeting with Nigeria’s Service Chiefs and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, ahead of his scheduled departure to Rome on Saturday.
Those in attendance included the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla; and the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, among others.
Though the agenda of the meeting was not disclosed, it is believed to have centered on the recent spike in insecurity across the country.
President Tinubu is slated to travel to Rome to attend the inauguration mass of Pope Leo XIV, following an invitation from the Vatican. The solemn mass will mark the beginning of the pontificate of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV—the 267th Bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church.
According to Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu will join other world leaders and Catholic dignitaries for the event
his formal invitation, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Vatican, underscored the importance of President Tinubu’s presence “at this moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and a world plagued by numerous tensions and conflicts.”
Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who served at the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s, has often described Nigeria as “particularly dear” to him.
The President will be accompanied by a high-profile delegation, including Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja; Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos; and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese.
The pontiff will be formally installed during a grand ceremony at St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, May 18, following his election by the College of Cardinals, 27 days after the death of Pope Francis on April 21.
President Tinubu is expected to return to Abuja on Tuesday, May 20
