President leaves for AU summit in Ethiopia

President Muhammadu Buhari left Abuja for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to participate in the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU).

The president left the capital city on Friday, January 26, 2018 according to his Personal Assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, on his Twitter account .

He posted, "President Muhammadu Buhari departs Abuja for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to participate in the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), where he will champion the anti-corruption campaign at the regional level."

According to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the president left the Presidential Villa, Abuja, via the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

Officials in the president's delegation to Ethiopia on Friday include the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Danbazau; and the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika.

Others are the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno; and the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu.

The 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) will take place between Sunday, January 28 and Monday, January 29.

Buhari to speak on anti-corruption fight

In a statement by the president's Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, on Thursday, he disclosed thatBuhari will present a statement under the historic theme for the summit, namely, "Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa's Transformation."

The statement read, "This is the first time in the 54-year history of the AU that anti-corruption will be made a theme of the gathering of the regional leaders.

"It would be recalled that on July 4, 2017 during the 29th Session of the AU, African leaders unanimously endorsed President Buhari to champion the fight against corruption on the continent.

"The endorsement was in recognition of his personal commitment and widely acclaimed anti-graft drive at the domestic level.

"On July 25, 2017, the President in a letter to President Alpha Conde of Guinea, who is also the out-going AU Chairperson, formally accepted his nomination to lead members of the AU on this crucial crusade against a veritable socio-economic vice that is anti-development.

"While thanking his colleagues for the honour, he reiterated his "commitment to contribute towards our collective efforts to strengthen good governance and development on the continent."

"Apart from anti-corruption, other issues lined for consideration by African leaders and their delegations include, peace and security (transnational terrorism); institutional reforms of the continental body; free movement of persons; climate change; trade; aviation; education; gender and development."

The president will also hold bilateral meetings with some of his colleagues on issues of common interests.