Politics

President Buhari leaves Abuja for Lome on Sunday

Published

6 years ago

July 28, 2018

President Muhammadu Buhari will on Sunday depart Abuja for Lome , Republic of Togo , to participate in two high – level meetings .
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity , Garba Shehu , disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists on Saturday .

On arrival in Lome , Shehu said the President would have an interactive session with the Nigerian community based in Togo at the Nigerian Embassy .

He added that on Monday , Buhari will attend the Joint ECOWAS / ECCAS Summit .

He said the summit would deliberate on common security threats to countries in West Africa and members of the Economic Community of Central African States with a view to forging concerted strategies in tackling the menace of terrorism , trans -border crimes and other forms of violent extremism .

He recalled that the President had expressed support for the proposed ECOWAS / ECCAS Summit when he received the current Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government , President Faure Gnassingbe of Togo on June 29 , 2018 in Katsina.

“ Terrorism now transcends international boundaries , and no country can combat the scourge alone, ” Buhari was qouted to have said .

While in Lome , Shehu added that the Nigerian delegation will also participate in a meeting on a Single Currency for ECOWAS with the deadline of 2020 .

He said being the largest economy not only in West Africa but also on the continent , Nigeria ’ s leadership role in the sub – regional aspiration cannot be over -emphasised .

On Tuesday , the presidential aide added that Buhari will join other leaders of the sub – region for the 53 rd Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government .

This session , he added , will be dominated by the political and security situations in Guinea Bissau , Mali and Togo; institutional reforms of the ECOWAS Commission to enhance its effectiveness ; illegal migration of Africans to Europe ; and the worrisome violent clashes between herders and farmers , among other issues .

The statement added , “ At the end of the session , a new Chair of the ECOWAS Authority is expected to take over from the incumbent and host .

“ President Buhari will be accompanied by Governors Ben Ayade and Abubakar Bello of Cross River and Niger States respectively . Others are Minister of Foreign Affairs , Geoffrey Onyeama ; Minister of Defence , Mansur Dan – Ali ; Minister of Finance , Kemi Adeosun ; Minister of Interior , Abdulrahman Danbazau; and the Minister of Trade , Industry and Investment , Okechukwu Enelamah.

“ The National Security Adviser , Babagana Monguno ; the Chief of Defence Staff , Gen . Abayomi Olonisakin ; the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency , Ahmed Abubakar; and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria , Godwin Emefiele , are also in the President ’ s delegation . ”