President Muhammadu Buhari departed Abuja on Friday for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to participate at the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity; Mr. Femi Adesina had earlier disclosed on January 25, in a statement made available to journalists, that the highlight of the President’s participation would be his statements under the historic theme for the AU Summit: “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation”.
“This is the first time in the 54-year history of the AU that anti-corruption will be made a theme of the gathering of the regional leaders’’ said Adesina.
The statement also disclosed that; Peace and Security (transnational terrorism), Institutional reforms of the continental body and free movement of persons, Climate change, Trade, Aviation, Education, Gender and development are the other issues lined up for discussion by the African leaders and their delegations at the summit. Bilateral meetings on issues of common interest will also hold at the summit.
Earlier in July 4, 2017, President Buhari was unanimously endorsed at the 29th session of the AU, to champion the fight against corruption in the continent. The endorsement was in recognition of his personal commitment and widely acclaimed anti-graft drive at the domestic level.
The President had accepted his nomination in a letter dated July 25, to President Alpha Conde of Guinea, who is the out-going AU Chairperson. He thanked his colleagues for the honour and reiterated his “commitment to contribute towards our collective efforts to strengthen good governance and development on the continent’’.
Buhari’s delegation to the summit are: the Minister of Foreign Affairs; Geoffrey Onyeama, the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation; Abubakar Malami, the Minister of Interior; Abdulrahman Danbazau, the Minister of State (Aviation); Hadi Sirika, the National Security Adviser; Babagana Monguno, and the Ag. Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission; Mr Ibrahim Magu.
