Buhari Returns from Addis Ababa

*To lead APC campaign grand finale in Lagos Tuesday

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari is back in Abuja after participating in the 36th Summit of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

President Buhari, who returned to Abuja via the presidential wing of Nnamani Azikiwe International Airport on Monday afternoon was received by top government officials including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; his Chief of Staff, Prof Ibrahim Gambari; Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mohammed Bello and Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba.

The President, who left the country last Thursday participated in a couple of events during the three-day outing, including high-level meetings on peace and security, climate change and the political situation in some West African countries.

Aside from the AU Summit themed “Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation”, President Buhari also took part in an Extraordinary Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which held on the sidelines of the main event.

He also took part in the second Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Sahel Region Climate Commission (SRCC), where Nigeria was picked to host the Secretariat of the Sahel Climate Fund.

During some of the meetings of the 36th AU Summit, the President presented Nigeria’s positions on critical continental issues, including urging member-states of the Union to ratify the (AfCFTA) Agreement for the economic development of the continent, as well as calling on them to strengthen early warning systems to rein in conflicts.

Meanwhile, the President is expected to lead other leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), including the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to Lagos on Tuesday for the grand finale of the presidential campaign of the party.