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Buhari Departs Abuja for Addis Ababa Today
President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja on Friday (today) to attend the 33rd Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Thursday.
Mr Shehu stated that Mr Buhari would join leaders from the 55-member countries of the AU to participate in the Summit with the theme, “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development.”
“The President will attend the 29th Forum of Heads of State and Government of Participating States of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).
“He will also attend the 27th Session of New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (AUDA-NEPAD). The meetings will precede the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly.
“In Nigeria’s capacity as a member of the AU Peace and Security Council, President Buhari will participate in the High Level meeting of the Peace and Security Council on the situation in the Sahel and Libya, and High Level Ad-Hoc Committee on South Sudan,” he said.
According to him, the president on the margins of the Summit will deliver a keynote address at a High Level Side Event on “Stop the War on Children: Dividend of Silencing the Guns.”
The event is co-sponsored by the Governments of Nigeria, Uganda and Norway, and Save the Children International.
“President Buhari and the Nigerian delegation will also participate in other High Level Side Events in furtherance of Nigeria’s national, regional and international goals, priorities and aspirations.
He further said the president would also hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders on the margins of the summit.
“At the end of the AU Summit on Februat 10, the Nigerian president will commence a State Visit to Ethiopia on Feb. 11, at the invitation of the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Dr Abiy Ahmed.
“The visit is aimed at strengthening bilateral ties between Nigeria and Ethiopia and reinforcing cooperation in key areas of mutual interest between the two countries.
“Before returning to Abuja, President Buhari will also interact with the Nigerian Community in Ethiopia,” he said.
Mr Shehu disclosed that the president would be accompanied by Governors of Imo, Hope Uzodinma and Cross River Ben Ayade as well as Sen. Adamu Bulkachuwa, Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and Yusuf Baba, Chairman House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Others are Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo and Gloria Akobundu, National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer, NEPAD Nigeria.
Also on the president’s entourage are the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno and Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ahmed Abubakar, are also on the president’s entourage.
Mr Buhari is expected back in Abuja on Wednesday.
(NAN)
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
