President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, returned to the country with his delegation, which included governors and ministers, after a weeklong engagement at the United States-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington DC.
Earlier on Saturday, Buhari turned 80 and marked the milestone in the United States of America, where Nigerian envoys serving in the U.S. missions of Washington D.C., New York and Atlanta celebrated the President, alongside a few Nigerians in diaspora.
The President had attended a three-day U.S.-Africa leaders’ summit and participated in some sideline events, including attending the Nigeria Business and Investment Roundtable and holding a conversation with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on democracy in Nigeria, on Friday.
Nigeria’s Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Uzoma Emenike, presented a portrait on behalf of other ambassadors and Nigerians in diaspora to the President.
Other ambassadors were Consul-General of Nigeria in New York, Lot Egopija, his counterpart in Atlanta, Amina Smaila, and the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations (UN), Tijjani Muhammad-Bande.
They also cut a beautiful birthday cake fashioned after the Nigerian map and colours -white and green. Earlier at the meeting, President Buhari urged Nigerians living abroad to continue to be good ambassadors and live in peace among themselves and with their hosts as “there can be no progress in disunity.”He expressed delight that the ambassadors were giving back to Nigeria as expected of them, urging them to do more.
“It is gratifying for me to note that many Nigerians in the U.S. have continued to excel in their careers, leading to some persons of Nigerian origin being appointed into the cabinet of President Joe Biden.
“Similarly, many have been elected or appointed into various responsible and competitive positions in the United States of America. I congratulate those who have brought honour and pride to our country.
“I thank and commend them for their respective successes. I equally urge them to demonstrate the highest sense of responsibility to continue to remain reference points of excellence as they serve in this country,” he said. Buhari assured that the electoral process leading to the election of a new administration was going on well.
“As you all are aware, the processes to our national elections in 2023 have continued to progress smoothly and consistently with the laws of our land. I have repeatedly assured of my personal commitment, as well as that of our administration, to ensure that the processes continue to be transparent, credible, free and fair.
“This will lead to smooth elections and transition to the next government. This is the only way we can strengthen democracy in Nigeria. It is the only way to set the right example for the rest of Africa and hopefully stop the recourse to unconstitutional changes of governments in our sub-region and the rest of the African continent,” he said.
In her remarks, Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said the first diaspora meeting by Buhari was held in Washington and eulogised the President for his continued support for NiDCOM.
She also lauded the President for being always ready to meet with Nigerians anytime he travels outside the country. Those in attendance at the town hall meeting were Nigerians and politicians of Nigerian descent, especially those voted and appointed into various positions after the last election in the U.S.
Others were accomplished medical doctors, sportsmen and women, those in the education, aviation as well as media and entertainment sectors.
The President has embarked on, at least, 19 foreign trips in 2022 alone.
The countries so far visited include Rwanda (June), Equatorial Guinea (May), Guinea Bissau (December), Niger (December), the United States (September and December), the United Kingdom (March and November), the United Arab Emirates (May), Liberia (July), South Korea (October), Ghana (June), Portugal (June), Spain (May), Belgium (February), Ethiopia (February), Kenya (March), Ivory Coast (May) and Senegal (July).
In his first address at the US-Africa Leaders Summit, the President reaffirmed Federal Government’s commitment to generating 30 gigawatts of energy by 2030. He noted that Nigeria became the first African country to develop a detailed Energy Transition Plan to tackle both energy poverty and climate change.
He, therefore, sought the United States’ support to achieve Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan, which, he said, requires at least $10 billion per year to finance.
In his second address, the President warned his fellow African leaders that unconstitutional regime change, terrorism and the effects of climate change on the continent may undermine the ability of the states to achieve Agenda 2063.
Speaking on the topic, ‘Partnering on Agenda 2063: A Peaceful and Secure Africa’, Buhari expressed hope that these threats will not trump the unity of purpose shared among all member states.
He urged member states to quell resurgence of conflicts in their regions through inclusive governance, constitutionalism and the strengthening of African Union mediation support and conflict prevention mechanisms.
During an interactive session at the weekend, the President said he had given the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) required resources for a smooth conduct of the 2023 elections. Therefore, he would entertain no excuses from the electoral umpire about funds shortage.
Buhari also cautioned Western nations on “frivolous” issuance of travel advisories on Nigeria, urging international media to be more objective in its reportage of the country.
On the bilateral scene, Nigeria signed two agreements on space exploration and clean energy. On the first day of the summit, Nigeria, alongside Rwanda, became the first African nations to sign the Artemis Accords.
The Artemis Accords represent a bold, multilateral vision for the future of space exploration. The current 23 signatories commit to principles to guide their civil space activities, including the public release of scientific data, responsible debris mitigation, registration of space objects, and the establishment and implementation of interoperability standards.
On the second day, the Nigerian Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment signed an agreement on clean and reliable energy with Sun Africa LLC, the largest U.S. renewable energy company operating in Africa.
The agreement earmarked, at least, 360 rural communities and 16 others, nationwide, for the construction of 5,000MW of solar power generation and 2,500MWh of battery energy storage power plants.
The first phase of the project scheduled for the first quarter of 2023 include: Gwagwalada, FCT (143 MWp PV size and energy storage of 68MWh); Gombe, Gombe State (270 MWp PV size and energy storage of 128MWh); Lafia, Nasarawa State (350 MWp PV size and energy storage of 166MWh); Geregu, Kogi State (174 MWp PV size and energy storage of 82MWh) and Ihovbor, Edo State (24 MWp PV size and energy storage of 11MWh).
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