President Buhari to attend 36th AU Summit in Addis Ababa

By BASHIR ADEFAKA

Hours after addressing the nation on issues of new naira redesign policy and upcoming general elections in the country, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari is billed to depart Abuja for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia capital and headquarters of the continent, to participate in the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU).

The theme of the AU Summit is “Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation”, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said in a statement copy of which was sent to The DEFENDER on Thursday.

The President, according to Shehu, will participate in three High Level meetings on peace and security, climate change and the political situation in some West African countries.

First is the Peace and Security Council (PSC) meeting of Heads of State and Government on the situation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (AUPSC High Level AU), to be chaired by the President of South Africa, in his capacity as the Chair of the Council for the month of February.

Second is the meeting of the Committee of the Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC), currently chaired by the President of Niger Republic.

On the margins of the annual meetings of the AU, President Buhari will also attend an extraordinary summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS.

The Nigerian leader will deliver remarks at these events as well as present his National Statement at the opening session of the Summit, which brings together leaders from the AU member countries as well as a number of non-AU countries and international institutions accredited to the AU in Addis Ababa.

President Buhari will be accompanied on the trip by some Ministers and other top government officials.

He will return to Abuja on Monday, February 20.