By Muhammad Bello
Abuja (Nigeria) — President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria leaves Abuja Thursday for Malta, to participate in the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting which begins in the island nation on Friday.
A statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina said Buhari and other Heads of State and Government are expected to deliberate on fresh Commonwealth initiatives on development and climate change, with a view to contribute to ongoing global efforts.
A new Secretary-General of the Commonwealth who will take over from the incumbent, Kamalesh Sharma, will be announced at the summit which will also feature the presentation of a progress report on the eradication of polio.
Mr. Buhari will leave Malta for Paris on Sunday, where he will present Nigeria’s statement at the United Nations Climate Change Conference scheduled to open on Monday.
He will join over 100 other world leaders on the opening day of the conference which will be hosted by President Francois Hollande of France and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki Moon.
Buhari will also participate in a summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and Benin Republic, which has been scheduled to take place on December 2 in Paris, on the sidelines of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change.
Deliberations at the Paris meeting of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and Benin Republic will focus mainly on the war against Boko Haram and other security issues of common interest to participating countries.
President Buhari will be accompanied on the trip by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, the Minister of Environment, Mrs. Amina Mohammed and the National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd) among others.
