President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to depart Abuja on Tuesday for Lagos as part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States.
The celebration, which began with a launch in Accra, Ghana, last month, will continue with a series of symbolic and developmental events in Lagos.
As Chairman of ECOWAS, President Tinubu will lead the commemorations, including a reenactment of the 1975 founding declaration at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island.
The milestone celebration will continue at Eko Hotels and Suites, where the President is expected to deliver a keynote address outlining the achievements of ECOWAS over the past five decades.
“President Tinubu will highlight the accomplishments of the regional bloc and reaffirm Nigeria’s commitment to regional integration, peace, and economic development,” said Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
Former Minister of External Affairs and Chairman of the NIIA, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, will also reflect on ECOWAS’s five-decade journey. A panel discussion featuring experts will follow his remarks. Significantly, former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon (Rtd), the only surviving leader who signed the ECOWAS founding treaty, is expected to attend all events and deliver a special address.
President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Touray, will open the Lagos session with a welcome speech.
In addition to the ECOWAS event, President Tinubu will commission several major infrastructure projects on Saturday, May 31, as part of his administration’s development drive.
Projects to be inaugurated include Section I of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Lekki Deep Sea Port Tax Credit Concrete Road, and the flag-off of Section II of the Coastal Highway, alongside the 7th Axial Road.
He will also virtually commission the Kano-Kanwar-Danja-Hadejiya Section II Road, the Yakasai-Zalli Road, and flag off other critical road projects across the northern corridor, including the Kano Northern Bypass, Zaria-Hunkuyi-Dabai Section I, Dabai-Kafur-Malumfashi, and Malumfashi-Dayi-Yashe-Gidan Mutum Daya Section III.
President Tinubu is expected to observe the Eid-el-Kabir prayers at the State House Mosque, Dodan Barracks, before returning to the Federal Capital Territory.
