Abuja: President Bola Tinubu will leave Abuja on Tuesday for Lagos to celebrate, along with other leaders, the 50th anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the President's spokesman, stated that the ECOWAS Golden Jubilee was initially launched in Accra in April. The Lagos event will include a reenactment of the 1975 declaration at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs in Victoria Island. At Eko Hotels and Suites, President Tinubu, who currently serves as the Chairman of ECOWAS, will highlight the economic bloc's milestones.
The Chairman of the NIIA and former Minister of External Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, is expected to review the bloc's 50-year journey, which will be further analyzed by panellists at the NIIA. Retired Gen. Yakubu Gowon, the only surviving Head of State who signed the ECOWAS declaration, will participate in all the ceremonies and deliver a speech at the Eko Hotels. Dr. Omar Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, will deliver the welcome address.
While in Lagos, President Tinubu will commission several projects of his administration on Saturday, May 31. These projects 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 Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the 7th Axial Road. Additionally, the President will virtually commission the Kano-Kanwar-Danja-Hadejiya Section II Road and Yakasai-Zalli Road, and flag off the Kano Northern By-pass, Zaria-Hunkuyi-Dabai Section I, Dabai-Kafur Malumfashi, and Malumfashi-Dayi-Yashe-Gidan Mutum Daya Section III.
President Tinubu is also scheduled to observe the Eid-el-Kabir prayers at the State House, Dodan Barracks, before returning to Abuja.