Buhari departs for ECOWAS summit on Monday

President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja on Monday for Niamey, Niger Republic to participate in the 57th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.

The one-day summit, according to the President’s spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement in Abuja on Sunday will deliberate on the Special Report on COVID-19 to be presented by President Buhari.

The Nigerian leader was appointed the ECOWAS Champion on the Fight against COVID-19 during the Extraordinary Virtual Summit of ECOWAS on April 23.

As a Champion, Buhari was expected to coordinate the sub-regional response against the pandemic.

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In furtherance of that objective, under the supervision of the Champion, Nigerian Ministers of Health, Aviation and Finance were appointed Chairpersons of the Ministerial Coordination Committees on Health; Transport, Logistics and Trade, and Finance respectively.

The presidential aide revealed that the summit would also receive a Special Report on the ECOWAS Single Currency Programme to be presented by President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone

Bio, who is the Chair of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), would be joined by President Alassane Ouattara, who is also the Chair of the West African Economic Monetary Union (WAEMU/UEMOA) during the presentation.

”The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean Claude Kassi Brou will present to the West African leaders, the 2020 Interim Report on activities of the sub-regional body including ECOWAS Vision 2050.

”The alarming rise in incidents of terrorism, insurgency, armed banditry and piracy will also come under focus, while the disruption of the democratic process by the military in Mali, will receive further attention.

”Similarly, in Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea and Niger where parliamentary and presidential elections are scheduled for this year, the imperative to strengthen democracy in the sub-region by respecting constitutional provisions, rule of law and outcomes of free and fair polls, will be emphasised,” Shehu added.

Shehu stated that the president, who would be accompanied to the summit by ministers and other top government officials, would return to Abuja after the meeting. (NAN)