Buhari off to Niger Monday as ECOWAS leaders hold summit
Buhari is expected to coordinate the sub-regional response Covid-19 pandemic
On a previous visit to Niger, Buhari condoled the country over a terror attack. Now he’s expected to lead subregional heads of government in a massive response to Covid-19 pandemic
President Muhammadu Buhari will leave Abuja Monday for Niamey, Niger Republic to participate in the 57th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.
President Buhari, who was appointed the ECOWAS Champion on the Fight against COVID-19 during the Extraordinary Virtual Summit of ECOWAS on April 23, 2020, will present his Special Report on COVID-19 at the one-day summit for deliberation.
A presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, in a statement issued on Sunday, said the President was expected to coordinate the sub-regional response against the pandemic.
The statement recalled that the country’s Ministers of Health, Aviation and Finance were appointed Chairpersons of the Ministerial Coordination Committees on Health; Transport, Logistics and Trade; and Finance respectively under the supervision of the President to further pursue the objective.
The Summit will also receive a Special Report on the ECOWAS Single Currency Programme to be presented by President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone and Chair of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), and President Alassane Ouattara, who is Chair of the West African Economic Monetary Union (WAEMU/UEMOA).
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 meeting, according to the statement, will also consider the alarming rise in incidents of terrorism, insurgency, armed banditry and piracy as well as the disruption of the democratic process by the military in Mali.
The statement said the imperative to strengthen democracy in the sub-region by respecting constitutional provisions, rule of law and outcomes of free and fair polls would be emphasized as Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea and Niger are scheduled to conduct parliamentary and presidential elections this year.
President Buhari, who will be accompanied to the Summit by ministers and other top government officials, will return to Abuja after the meeting.