President Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja on Tuesday for Lagos, where he will lead celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The golden jubilee of ECOWAS, which was officially flagged off in Accra last month, will be commemorated in Lagos with a series of events. Key highlights include a symbolic reenactment of the original 1975 ECOWAS declaration at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in Victoria Island.
President Tinubu, who also serves as the current Chairman of ECOWAS, is expected to deliver a keynote address at the commemorative event to be held at Eko Hotels and Suites. The President will spotlight the achievements and milestones of the regional body over the past five decades.
Joining the celebrations is the only surviving signatory of the 1975 ECOWAS declaration, former Nigerian Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (Rtd), who will participate in all scheduled activities and deliver a speech at the main event.
The event will also feature a review of ECOWAS’s five-decade journey by Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, Chairman of the NIIA and former Minister of External Affairs. A panel discussion will follow, analysing the region’s political and economic integration efforts. Dr. Omar Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, will deliver the welcome address.
Beyond the anniversary events, President Tinubu will, on Saturday, May 31, commission a number of infrastructural projects in Lagos. These include Section I of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Lekki Deep Sea Port Tax Credit Concrete Road, the flag-off of Section II of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, and the 7th Axial Road.
The President is also scheduled to virtually commission projects in the northern part of the country, including the Kano-Kanwar-Danja-Hadejiya Section II Road, 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 will observe the Eid-el-Kabir prayers at the State House in Dodan Barracks before returning to Abuja.