President Buhari, on Thursday, February 16 leaves Abuja for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to participate in the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU).
The President embarks on the trip after a national broadcast where he announced the extension of the validity of only old N200 banknotes to circulate as legal tender with the new N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes for 60 days from February 10, 2023 to April 10 2023 to address the challenges of currency swap.
A statement released by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, says the President will be accompanied on the trip by some Ministers and other top government officials.
Shehu said the first would be the Peace and Security Council (PSC) meeting of Heads of State and Government on the situation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (AUPSC High Level AU), to be chaired by the President of South Africa, in his capacity as the Chair of the Council for the month of February.
He said the President would participate in three High-Level meetings on peace and security, climate change, and the political situation in some West African countries at the AU Summit themed ‘Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation.’
The presidential spokesman said the second one would be the meeting of the Committee of the Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC), currently chaired by the President of Niger Republic.
He added that on the margins of the annual meetings of the AU, President Buhari will also attend an extraordinary summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS.
Buhari will deliver remarks at these events as well as present his National Statement at the opening session of the Summit, which brings together leaders from the AU member countries as well as a number of non-AU countries and international institutions accredited to the AU in Addis Ababa.
Shehu said the President will return to Abuja on Monday, February 20.
