President Muhammadu Buhari will embark on a one-day peace keeping visit to Bamako, Republic of Mali on Thursday, after a briefing by ECOWAS Special Envoy to Nigeria, erstwhile President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
This will mark President Buhari’s first travel outside Nigeria since the country recorded its first case of deadly COVID-19 case in March this year.
The President is scheduled to meet Chairman of the Authority of Head of State and Government of the sub-regional organisation, President Issoufou Mahamadou of Niger Republic who will lead some ECOWAS leaders to Mali in a bid to finding a long-lasting political solution to the crisis in the country.
Other Presidents expected to participate in the Bamako meeting are the host President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Presidents Machy Sall of Senegal, Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana and Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire.
Former President Jonathan in of President of ECOWAS Commission, Mr Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, visited the State house on Thursday to brief President Buhari on the events in Mali, prompting the visit of ECOWAS leaders to build on the agreements reached by concerned parties.
After the briefing by Jonathan, Buhari had said, “We will ask the President of Niger, who is the Chairman of ECOWAS to brief us as a group, and we will then know the way forward.”
President Buhari expressed satisfaction with the briefing received on the Mali situation from the former President and acknowledged Jonathan’s knowledge of the crisis since his reign as President of Nigeria.
Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, had said in a statement that the former President had briefed Buhari on his activities as Special Envoy to restore peace to protest ravaged Mali. Protests have been ongoing in Mali against President Keita who has three years left on his five years second tenure in office.
the killing of protesters by security forces in the riots which began on July 10 causing escalation of the crisis, prompting ECOWAS intervention.
Source: VanguardNGR