President Bola Tinubu has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to attend the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government. He landed on Thursday night and was welcomed at the airport by Ethiopian deputy chief of protocol, Eshetu Legesse, along with Nigerian Foreign Minister Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar and Ambassador Nasir Aminu, the charge d’affaires of the Nigerian embassy in Ethiopia.
Following his arrival, Ambassador Tuggar provided the president with a briefing on the summit and Nigeria’s diplomatic successes, which lasted until around 2 a.m. on Friday. Key highlights of the briefing included the re-election of Ambassador Bankole Adeoye as the African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security. Additionally, Nigeria successfully retained its seat on the African Union Peace and Security Council, reinforcing the country’s leadership role in promoting peace and security across the continent.
Among those present during the briefing were Nigerian government officials including Wale Edun (Minister of Finance), Abubakar Badaru (Minister of Defence), Jumoke Oduwole (Minister of Trade and Investment), Festus Keyamo (Minister of Aviation), Muhammed Idris (Minister of Information and National Orientation), Balarabe Abbas Lawal (Minister of Environment), and Doris Uzoka-Anite (Minister of State for Finance).
This year’s AU Summit, themed “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations”, is centered around the concepts of reparatory justice and racial healing. As part of his engagement at the summit, President Tinubu will deliver a speech at the African Union Peace and Security Council, focusing on key security concerns affecting the continent, including the ongoing conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
President Tinubu is expected to return to Abuja on Monday, February 17.
