From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has left Nigeria to participate in the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU), in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement, yesterday, said he would return to Abuja on Monday, February 20.
He would be accompanied on the trip by some ministers and other top government officials.
The theme of the Summit is “Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation.”
Shehu said the president would participate in three high level meetings on peace and security, climate change and the political situation in some West African countries.
He said: “First is the Peace and Security Council (PSC) 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 the month of February.
Second is the meeting of the Committee of the Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC), 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.
Buhari will deliver his 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 a number of non-AU countries and international institutions accredited to the AU in Addis Ababa.