Nigerian 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.
Mr. Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the Nigerian president, said in a statement on Sunday in Abuja that the one day summit would deliberate on the Special Report on COVID-19 to be presented by the Nigerian President, who was appointed the ECOWAS Champion on the Fight against COVID-19 during the Extraordinary Virtual Summit of ECOWAS on April 23.
According to the statement, Buhari is expected to coordinate the sub-regional response against the pandemic.
The statement added 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 the 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,” the statement said.
The Nigerian president, who will be accompanied to the summit by ministers and other top government officials, will return to Abuja after the meeting.
GIK/APA