Buhari to attend ECOWAS summit in Ghana on Saturday

President Muhammadu Buhari will, on Saturday, attend the 59th ordinary session of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) authority of heads of state and government in Accra, Ghana.

According to a statement by Garba Shehu, presidential spokesperson, Buhari will depart Abuja on Saturday for the mid-year statutory meeting of the regional bloc.

According to him, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, who is ECOWAS special envoy and mediator to Mali, is expected to present a report on his latest working visit to the West African country at the summit.

“The Heads of State and Government will also receive a report on ECOWAS institutional reforms, single-currency programmes and a memorandum on the proposed mechanism of rotation of ECOWAS Member States’ candidature to the Chairmanship of the African Union,” Shehu said.

“A communiqué will be issued at the end of the Summit.

“The 59th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government was preceded by the 46th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council (MSC) at the Ministerial Level and the 86th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, in Accra, Ghana.

“The MSC, comprising of Ministers responsible for defence and foreign affairs from ECOWAS Member States, considered the security situation in the ECOWAS region, among other topical issues on the agenda.

“The 86th Ordinary Session, however, considered a memorandum on the post Covid-19 industry recovery plan, the 2021 mid-term report of the President of the ECOWAS Commission and the ongoing institutional reforms at ECOWAS, among others.”

The presidential aide said Buhari would be accompanied by Geoffrey Onyema, minister of foreign affairs; Zubairu Dada, minister of state, foreign affairs; Bashir Magashi, minister of defence, and Osagie Ehanire, minister of  health.

Others on the president’s entourage include Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning; Babagana Monguno, national security adviser; Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Ahmed Rufai, director-general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).