President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja Monday for Niamey, Niger Republic to participate in the 57th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.
The one-day summit will deliberate on the Special Report on COVID-19 to be presented by Buhari who was appointed the ECOWAS Champion on the Fight against COVID-19 during the Extraordinary Virtual Summit of ECOWAS on April 23, 2020.
Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President, (Media & Publicity) in a statement, said as a Champion, the Nigerian leader was expected to coordinate the sub-regional response against the pandemic, adding that in furtherance of that objective, under the supervision of the Champion, Nigerian Ministers of Health, Aviation and Finance were appointed Chairpersons of the Ministerial Coordination Committees on Health; Transport, Logistics and Trade; and Finance respectively.
The statement said the Summit would also receive a Special Report on the ECOWAS Single Currency Programme to be presented by President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone and Chair of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), and President Alassane Ouattara, who is Chair of the West African Economic Monetary Union (WAEMU/UEMOA).
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean Claude Kassi Brou will present to the West African leaders, the 2020 Interim Report on activities of the sub-regional body, including ECOWAS Vision 2050.
According to the statement, the alarming rise in incidents of terrorism, insurgency, armed banditry and piracy would also come under focus, while the disruption of the democratic process by the military in Mali, would receive further attention.
The statement added that, in Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea and Niger where parliamentary and presidential elections were scheduled for this year, the imperative to strengthen democracy in the sub-region by respecting constitutional provisions, rule of law and outcomes of free and fair polls, would be emphasised.
It added that Buhari, who would be accompanied to the Summit by ministers and other top government officials, would return to Abuja after the meeting.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK