President Buhari To Visit Saudi Arabia Today For OIC Summit

A day after he was inaugurated for a second term, President Muhammadu Buhari, will travel to Makka in Saudi Arabia for the Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, the President will depart Abuja today for the summit which will take place the next day. He is expected to return to the country on June 2.

At the summit, to be hosted by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the President is expected to stress the need for IOC member countries to unite and work together to combat common challenges such as terrorism and violent extremism.

President Buhari will also continue his calls for the revival of the Lake Chad Basin, and push for investments in Nigeria to create jobs and financing for development.

The theme for the summit is ‘Makkah al-Mukarramah Summit: Hand in Hand toward the Future’. It is aimed at developing a unified stance on events in the Islamic world and is expected to be attended by heads of state and governments of member states.

While in Makkah, President Buhari will hold bilateral meetings with world leaders to promote increased cooperation and collaboration on issues of mutual concern.

The President will be accompanied on the trip by Governors Mohammed Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State, Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State and Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State.

Also on the delegation are the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ambassador Mustapha Suleiman; Director-General, National Intelligence Agency; Ambassador Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar; Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA); Dr. Isa Ali Pantami; and the Chairman, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Abdullahi Mukthar.

President Buhari’s participation in the summit will see him join his predecessors – the late Umaru Yar’Adua and Dr Goodluck Jonathan – as Nigerian leaders who have attended the OIC conference in person.