President Muhammadu Buhari has departed the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to attend the 33rd Ordinary Session of Presidents and Governments of the African Union.
The Herald gathered that Buhari on Friday travelled with the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma and Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State.
Others in the president’s entourage are some senators and top officials in the ministry of foreign affairs including Geoffrey Onyeama.
Also included in the list are National Security Adviser (NSA) Major-General Babagana Monguno (Rtd), and Director-General of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ahmed Rufai Abubakar.
On the sidelines of the summit with is themed Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development, the president is to deliver a speech on Stop the War on Children: Dividend of Silencing the Guns.
President Buhari will also take part in the 29th forum of heads of state for talks on the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM)
He is also expected to meet with international personalities at the 27th session of New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Heads of State and Government Orientation committee (AUDA-NEPAD).
A statement by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, read: “The president will also hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders on the margins of the summit.
“At the end of the AU summit on February 10, the Nigerian president will commence a state visit to Ethiopia on February 11, at the invitation of the Ethiopian prime minister, Dr Abiy Ahmed.”