Be more practical in helping Nigeria combat terrorism – Tinubu tasks UN

President Bola Tinubu has tasked the United Nations to be more practical in supporting Nigeria in the fight against terrorism, in view of the rippling effect on global peace, displacements of people, and rising poverty.

Tinubu stated while playing host to the Under-Secretary General of the United Nations Office on Counter-Terrorism, Mr. Vladimir Voronkov in Abuja.

The President noted that terrorism had consistently reversed the gains on development and increased instability in families and communities, but that UN cooperation in dealing with it had always been inconsistent in developing world context.

He said that going forward, global peace and prosperity would demand the swift and comprehensive provision of the right answers to the challenge posed by insurgencies in parts of the world, which threaten universal stability.

In his remarks, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar said he had highlighted some of the conditions that promote insurgency like poverty and injustice with the UN team while noting the Nigerian Government’s response.

The Under-Secretary General of the UN Vladimir Voronkov noted that Nigeria already had a framework on prevention, mitigation, and reconciliation, commending the efforts taken so far in tackling terrorism.

Mr. Voronkov told President Tinubu that the UN was planning a Counter-Terrorism Summit in Abuja slated for April 2024, and it would be largely driven by African nations with an African agenda.