Buhari Leaves Abuja Today for Commonwealth Meeting in Kigali
*Expected back Sunday
Deji Elumoye in Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja Wednesday to attend the week-long 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) which began on Monday, June 20, 2022 in Kigali, the Rwandan capital.
To the meeting which ends on Sunday, the President is leading a nine-man Nigerian delegation which include the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; his Finance, Budget and National Planning counterpart, Zainab Ahmed; Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire; Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi and the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami.Others in the President’s entourage are the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd); Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar and the Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NidCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
In a release issued by Media Adviser to the President, Femi Adesina, President Buhari will join other leaders to participate in discussions focused on the progress and prosperity of the more than two billion people living in the 54 independent countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific that make up the Commonwealth.
The theme for CHOGM 2022 is ‘Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming,’ and the Heads of Government are expected to reaffirm their commitment to upholding the Commonwealth Charter, which focuses on democracy, human rights, the rule of law, as well as economic opportunities and sustainable development.President Buhari will attend the official opening ceremony on Thursday, June 24, followed by high-level meetings of Heads of State and Government on Friday, June 24 and Saturday, 25 June.
The leaders are expected to consider a range of topical issues including post COVID-19 economic recovery, debt sustainability, climate change, poverty reduction, youth entrepreneurship and employment, trade and food security.
Before now, the Nigerian delegation drawn from the public, private and youth organisations participated in four forums covering youth, women, business and civil society; and will engage in ministerial meetings and several side events.On the margins of the meeting, the Nigerian leader is scheduled to deliver remarks at the High-Level Session of Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases Summit and participate in an Intergenerational Dialogue for Youth.
President Buhari is also expected to hold bilateral talks with some leaders from the Commonwealth countries.
Ahead of the biennial meeting, which was due to take place in June 2020 but was postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, President Buhari, had in an article published in The Telegraph, London, stressed that the Commonwealth can become a real global power with improved collaborations on trade and security, lending weight to each other in international bodies.
The President is expected back in the country on Sunday, June 26, 2022.
