President Muhammadu Buhari, Sunday morning, departed Abuja, the nation’s capital, for Accra, Ghana to attend an emergency Extraordinary Summit of ECOWAS, convened to discuss recent political developments in Mali.
A release by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the meeting was at the instance of the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, and President of Ghana, Mr. Nana Danquah Akufo-Addo.
Recall that prior to the Extraordinary Summit, President Buhari had met with the Special Envoy and ECOWAS mediator in Mali, former President Goodluck Jonathan, who briefed him on the latest developments in the country following his meeting with key political actors in the West African country.
“As the situation in Mali continues to evolve,” Adesina also recalled, “Nigeria had condemned the May 24 military coup, the subsequent detention of the president and prime minister by soldiers, and called for the immediate and unconditional release of all civilian officials detained.”
Top administration members accompanying President Buhari on the one-day trip include: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Salihi Magashi (rtd), Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Richard Adebayo, and Director-General of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai Abubakar.
Buhari is expected back in Abuja later today at the end of the one-day Summit.