Tinubu heads to Ghana for AU meeting, to present report on state of ECOWAS

President Bola Tinubu will depart Nigeria for Ghana to attend the sixth mid-year coordination meeting of the African Union on July 20.

In a statement on Friday, Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, said the meeting will involve Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the Regional Mechanisms (RMs), and the African Union member states.

Ngelale said the meeting will be held in alignment with the AU’s 2024 theme, which is ‘Educating and empowering Africa for the 21st century’.

He said Tinubu, who is also the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), will be presenting the 2024 report on the state of the regional organisation at the meeting.

He said the report will be centred on “peace, regional security, governance, economic integration, humanitarian and social development, energy, mines and agriculture”.

“In his capacity as the chairman of ECOWAS authority of heads of state and government, President Tinubu will address the meeting on the status of regional integration across various areas in Africa, highlighting the achievements and challenges encountered in West Africa since the last meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, in July 2023,” the statement reads.

“The mid-year coordination meeting was conceptualized in 2017 as the principal forum for the AU and the RECs to align their work and coordinate the implementation of the continental integration agenda, replacing the June/July summits.

“In July 2023, President Tinubu, who was then elected as the chairman of ECOWAS, delivered his maiden speech at the AU fifth mid-year coordination meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, where he affirmed Africa’s strength and the need for unity.”

The presidential spokesperson said the meeting in Accra, Ghana’s capital city, will focus on the evaluation of AU’s early warning and conflict prevention mechanisms.

The meeting will also discuss “promoting cooperation among regional economic communities to accelerate integration”.

He said a declaration would be adopted at the end of the meeting.

Ngelale added that Tinubu, accompanied by some senior government officials, will return to Nigeria at the end of the meeting.