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, the Presidency has announced.
The President’s spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, confirmed this development in a statement on Friday in Abuja.
Shehu said the president would depart Abuja on Saturday to join other Heads of State of Government of ECOWAS for the mid-year statutory meeting of the regional bloc.
He, however, stated that Mali would not be participating in the summit following its recent suspension from the group.
According to him, 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,’’ he added.
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.
The 86th Ordinary Session, however, 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.
The presidential aide revealed that the president would be accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema; Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada; Minister of Defence, retired Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi, and the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire.
Others on the president’s entourage include the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; the National Security Adviser, retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno; Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb. Ahmed Rufa’i.
According to him, the president is expected back in Abuja at the end of the Summit.
