Buhari, Others Leave for Commonwealth Summit in Rwanda
The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari will leave Abuja on Wednesday, 22 June, 2022 to attend the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda.
He will be in the company of Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affair; Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning; Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Health; Mohammed Abdullahi, Minister of Environment, and Isa Ali Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.
Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd), National Security Adviser; Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar, Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), and Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NidCOM), are all in the entourage of the president.
In a statement given by Femi Adesina, the presidential spokesman, He said the President will unite with other leaders at the CHGOM 2022 to discuss the progress and prosperity of more than 2 billion people living in the 54 independent countries in Africa, America, Asia, Europe and the Pacific that constitute the Commonwealth.
Adesina said that at the CHOGM themed “Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming,” The Head of Governments are expected to re-support their commitment to upholding the Commonwealth Charter, which focuses on human rights, democracy, the rule of law, in addition to economic opportunities and sustainable development.
He also said, the president will attend the official opening ceremony on June 24, followed by high-level meetings of Heads of State and Government on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 June.
The leaders are expected to deliberate on a range of topical issues including trade and food security, post COVID-19 economic recovery, debt sustainability, poverty reduction, climate change, youth entrepreneurship and employment.
“Before this, 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 edge of the meeting, the president is scheduled to deliver statements 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 supposed to hold in June 2020 but was postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, President Buhari, in an article published in The Telegraph, London, emphasized 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 statement added.
Buhari will return to the country on Sunday.