2nd July, 2022
By Chijioke Okoronkwo
Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Saturday departed Lagos for Accra, Ghana, to represent Nigeria at the 61st Ordinary Session of the Authority of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government.
Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement in Abuja on Saturday, said the vice-president would stand in for President Muhammadu Buhari at the summit which comes up on Sunday.
The vice-president will join other leaders to deliberate and take decisions on the political, security and humanitarian issues among others, regarding the sub-region at the regular ECOWAS summit.
The meeting will also review the situations in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, with regards to restoring democratic rule.
West African leaders have held several sessions since 2020, including emergency meetings, dedicated to finding lasting solutions to the resurgence of coups in parts of the sub-region.
At the summit, the Mediation and Security Council of ECOWAS will update leaders on political developments in the region and in the Sahel region.
The council will also provide updates on the issues of insecurity, challenges relating to youth unemployment and the impact of diseases and pandemics on social tensions in the region.
On June 4, in Accra, President Buhari joined other ECOWAS leaders to deliberate on the situation in the sub-region, urging more attention to be paid to the victims of unconstitutional change of government
On the sidelines of the summit, Osinbajo will also attend a meeting of the five West African countries involved with The Abidjan – Lagos Corridor Highway Development Project.
The project is a flagship project of the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA).
The highway connects the capitals of five West African states–Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria and stretches for approximately 1,028 km.
A release from ECOWAS Commission said the objective of this 42 million-dollar project is “to promote cross-border trade.
It also seeks integrate economies within the ECOWAS area, reduce transport costs, stimulate inter-regional trade and strengthen regional integration in West Africa.”
The vice-president will be accompanied on the trip by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Amb. Zubairu Dada and some other members of the Federal Executive Council.
He is expected back in Abuja on Sunday.