Buhari departs for US, addresses world leaders at UN 76th General Assembly

President Muhammadu Buhari will be departing Nigeria for the United States of America (USA) where he will participate in the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA76).

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, had in a statement on Saturday, indicated that President Buhari would depart Abuja on Sunday for New York where the session is expected to open on Tuesday.

According to the statement, “The theme for this year’s UNGA is, ‘Building Resilience Through Hope – To Recover from COVID-19, Rebuild Sustainably, Respond to the Needs of the Planet, Respect the Rights of People and Revitalise the United Nations’.

The statement further indicated: “President Buhari will address the Assembly during the general debates on Friday, September 24 when he will speak on the theme of the conference and other global issues.”

It was added that in the course of the Assembly, President Buhari and others state officials in the delegation will partake in other significant meetings, which include the high-level meeting to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of the Adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, themed ‘Reparations, Racial Justice, and Equality for People of African Descent’.

“The delegation will also participate in food systems summit; high-level dialogue on energy; and the high-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons,” Adesina stated.

The S.A. Media added that the President would hold bilateral meetings with a number of other leaders of delegations and heads of international development organisations while in the U.S.

President Buhari is accompanied to New York, US, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; and Minister of State for Environment, Sharon Ikeazor.

Others in the President’s delegation include the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ahmed Abubakar; Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa; and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire.

The statement further indicated that President Buhari is expected back in the country on Sunday, September 26.