President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to flag off Africa’s anti-corruption war tomorrow (Monday) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity,
Malam Garba Shehu, disclosed this while addressing journalists in Addis
Ababa Friday night after Buhari arrived for the 30th Ordinary Session
of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union.
The presidential spokesman said at the unveiling ceremony, the
president would set the tone for the African continent’s anti-graft war.
According to him, President Buhari was well prepared for the AU
summit which has as its theme, “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A
Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation.”
He explained that “The theme for this year’s summit is essentially on
corruption. The AU has chosen the theme of winning the fight against
corruption as a sustainable launch pad for Africa for African
transformation. So, it is important for President Muhammadu Buhari that
he has been chosen as the champion for this theme.
“What that tells you is that the whole continent is looking at the
good work that our president is doing, pushing back and fighting
corruption effectively. And the rest of the continent will say, let’s
look at what Nigeria is doing and wants to share the Nigerian
experience.
“The president has come well prepared. He has the role of flagging
off the continent’s wide war against corruption. So, he is going to set
the tone and as well unveil the logo. So, it is big theme for our
country.”
Shehu further stated that the President would use the period of the
meeting to engage in bilateral talks on other issues of continental
significance such as single air transportation system, free movement,
free trade, climate change, security, Lake Chad and the Sahel crisis as
well as “all of these acts of terror flowing from Libya, Somalia,
Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo.”
Continuing he said, “So, they (African leaders) have their plates
full and it is going to be deeply and highly engaging for them. We are
looking forward to, perhaps, one of the busiest summits ever in the
African Union.”