NIGERIAN President Muhammadu Buhari is leaving the country to attend the 30^th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Friday, January 26.

Femi Adesina, special adviser to the President on media and publicity), said Buhari, who will be accompanied by some top government officials, will also hold bilateral meetings with some of his colleagues on issues of common interests.

Those who will be travelling with him include Geoffrey Onyeama, minister of Foreign Affairs,  Abubakar Malami, minister of justice and attorney-general of the Federation; Gen. Abdulrahman Danbazau (rtd), minister of interior; Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation; Babagana Monguno, national security adviser, and  Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

At the submit, Buhari is billed to speak on “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation”. Realnews reports that the president’s speech will be the first time in the history of the AU (which is now 54) that anti-corruption will be made a theme of the meeting of Africa heads of state and government.

The decision for the president to give the speech on corruption was taken on July 4, 2017, at the 29th Session of the AU which unanimously endorsed him to champion the fight against corruption in Africa because of his personal commitment and widely acclaimed anti-graft drive at the domestic level.

The president conveyed his acceptance in a letter dated July 25, 2017, to President Alpha Conde of Guinea, the out-going AU chairperson and thanked his colleagues for the honour.

Among other things, the AU meeting will also consider issues pertaining to peace and security (transnational terrorism); institutional reforms of the continental body; free movement of persons; climate change; trade; aviation; education; gender and development.

– Jan. 25 2018 @ 15:21 GMT