President Buhari to attend ECOWAS Mid-Year Summit in Accra

*Mali, a country of military rule, exempted due to suspension

*Ex-Nigerian President Jonathan, who is ECOWAS Envoy, to attend

By BASHIR ADEFAKA

President Muhammadu Buhari will participate in the 59th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Accra, Ghana on Saturday, June 19, 2021.

The President, who will depart Abuja on Saturday, will join other Heads of State of Government of ECOWAS for the mid-year statutory meeting of the regional bloc, with the exception of Mali, which was recently suspended from the group.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, ECOWAS Special Envoy and Mediator to Mali, is expected to present a report on his latest working visit to the West African country to the Summit of the Heads of State.

The Heads of State and Government will also receive a report on ECOWAS institutional reforms, single currency programmes and a memorandum on the proposed mechanism of rotation of ECOWAS Member States’ candidature to the Chairmanship of the African Union.

A communiqué will be issued at the end of the Summit.

The 59th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government was preceded by the 46th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council (MSC) at the Ministerial Level and the 86th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, in Accra, Ghana.

The MSC, comprising of Ministers responsible for defence and foreign affairs from ECOWAS Member States, considered the security situation in the ECOWAS Region, among other topical issues on the agenda while the 86th Ordinary Session considered a memorandum on the post Covid-19 industry recovery plan, the 2021 mid-term report of the President of the ECOWAS Commission and the ongoing institutional reforms at ECOWAS, among others.

President Buhari will be accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema, Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada, Minister of Defence, Maj. General Bashir Magashi (Rtd), Minister of  Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, the National Security Adviser, Maj. General Babagana Monguno  (Rtd), Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar.

The President is expected back in Abuja at the end of the Summit, Malam Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, said in a statement emailed to The DEFENDER on Friday.