Buhari Departs To Addis Ababa For AU Summit

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, will on Thursday depart Nigeria for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to participate in the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, the presidency has said.

Buhari’s media aide, Garba Shehu, in a statement on Twitter hours after the president’s address to the nation, said the Nigerian leader would participate in three high-level meetings on peace and security, climate change, and the political situation in some West African countries.

He added that the theme of the AU Summit is “Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area Implementation.”

Shehu said the high-level meetings Buhari is expected to attend include “the Peace and Security Council 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 February. “

He added, “Second is the meeting of the Committee of the Heads of State and Government on Climate Change, 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 several non-AU countries and international institutions accredited to the AU in Addis Ababa.”

Buhari, who is expected to return to Nigeria on Monday, February 20, will be accompanied on the trip by some ministers and other top government officials.