President of Togo, Mr. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé has lamented that piracy alone is costing the Gulf of Guinea the sum of $7 Billion annually, even as he extended an invitation to President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria to a summit on maritime security and development which his country would hold in November.
Gnassingbe who met with President Buhari today at the Aso Presidential Villa in Abuja, Nigeria, appealed to him and other African leaders to step in to halt the perilous emigration of African youth to Europe.
He also called on African leaders to do more to ensure peace and security in the continent, adding that piracy alone costs the Gulf of Guinea $7billion because little effort is being made to combat it.
He stressed that without cooperation, no single country alone could combat piracy, and that the first stage is for the countries involved to come together and talk.
“I am in Nigeria to congratulate the president on his victory at the elections and to condole with the president for the victims of terrorism. We continue to pray for those who lost their lives with the hope that God will console their families.” [myad]
