Governor of Zamfara state, Dauda Lawal, will accompany President Bola Tinubu on his two-day state visit to the United Kingdom (UK).
Tinubu, alongside Oluremi, the first lady, is scheduled to depart Abuja on Tuesday for the visit, which will take place on March 18 and 19.
King Charles will host Tinubu and his wife at Windsor Castle during the visit. The state visit is the first by a Nigerian leader in 37 years.
Earlier, the presidency noted that the purpose of the visit is to strengthen bilateral relations between Nigeria and the UK and explore avenues for collaboration on issues such as immigration, trade, investment, and cultural exchange.
Members of Tinubu’s entourage were listed to include Senate President Godswill Akpabio; Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice; Dele Alake, minister of solid minerals; Idris Mohammed, minister of information and national orientation; Bianca Ojukwu, minister of state for foreign affairs; Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy; and Jumoke Oduwole, minister of industry, trade and investment.
Hannatu Musawa, minister of culture and creative economy; Bosun Tijani, minister of communications and digital economy; Christopher Musa, minister of defence; Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser (NSA); and Mohammed Mohammed, director-general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), are also among the delegation.
In a statement on Monday, Sulaiman Idris, Lawal’s spokesperson, said the visit will provide the governor with “networking opportunities, opening significant prospects for investment and economic benefits for Zamfara state”.
Lawal is the only governor that has been officially listed to join the president’s entourage.
NewsClick Nigeria reports that Lawal was among the three last standing governors in the crisis-riddled Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, March 9 shortly after the Appeal Court upheld a judgement nullifying the November national conventional held in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital by a faction of the party.
