President Bola Tinubu will depart Nigeria for Ghana to attend the sixth mid-year coordination meeting of the African Union (AU) on July 20.
This announcement was made in a statement on Friday by Ajuri Ngelale, the presidential spokesperson.
The meeting will bring together Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the Regional Mechanisms (RMs), and AU member states. It will align with the AU’s 2024 theme, “Educating and Empowering Africa for the 21st Century.”
In his capacity as the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Tinubu will present the 2024 report on the state of the regional organization at the meeting. This report will cover critical areas such as “peace, regional security, governance, economic integration, humanitarian and social development, energy, mines, and agriculture.”
“In his capacity as the chairman of ECOWAS authority of heads of state and government, President Tinubu will address the meeting on the status of regional integration across various areas in Africa, highlighting the achievements and challenges encountered in West Africa since the last meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, in July 2023,” the statement reads.
The mid-year coordination meeting, conceptualized in 2017, serves as the principal forum for the AU and the RECs to align their work and coordinate the implementation of the continental integration agenda, replacing the previous June/July summits.
In July 2023, President Tinubu, then newly elected as the chairman of ECOWAS, delivered his maiden speech at the AU’s fifth mid-year coordination meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, where he emphasized Africa’s strength and the need for unity.
The upcoming meeting in Accra, Ghana’s capital city, will focus on evaluating the AU’s early warning and conflict prevention mechanisms. Additionally, it will discuss “promoting cooperation among regional economic communities to accelerate integration.”
A declaration is expected to be adopted at the end of the meeting. Ngelale added that President Tinubu, accompanied by some senior government officials, will return to Nigeria at the end of the meeting.
