2023: Party Leaders to Meet Diplomatic Community

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The AFRPN (Association of Foreign Relations Professionals of Nigeria) has concluded arrangement to organise a parley between the leadership of selected political parties and the diplomatic community.

A jointly signed statement by the President and Secretary-General of the Association, Amb Gani Lawal and Amb Ridhwan Mustapha, respectively, stated, “Aware of the pivotal role party politics play  in the formulation, articulation and implementation of Nigeria’s foreign policy, the AFRPN in line with its mandate to impact positively the foreign policy of Nigeria has invited formally the leadership of four of the contending political parties for the office of the president to rub minds with the diplomatic community as a way of deepening the understanding of the input-output system that has informed the Nigerian foreign policy options in the international arena which has served the nation well to become a leading player in Africa and the world at large.”

The statement revealed that the ‘Meet the Diplomatic Community’ parley will take place at the Rotunda Hall of the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Abuja at 3:00 p.m. on January 10, 2023, having in audience the members of the association including the foreign envoys of all countries accredited to Nigeria.

The statement added that each candidate would have 15 minutes to speak and 10 minutes to answer fielded questions.

The chairman of the occasion is the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of Sokoto State University and former VC of University of Abuja,  Professor Nuhu Yaqub, who was the recipient of the Global award for Academic Excellence and pioneer President of Society for International Relations Awareness (SIRA).

The moderator is Boladei Godknows Igali, former Nigerian ambassador to Scandinavian countries, and retired Federal Permanent Secretary and the Pro- Chancellor of Federal University of Technology, Akure. (FUTA).