TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari left Nigeria on Monday — after declaring his interest to run for office come 2019 — to attend the Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting  (CHOGM 2018) in London and Windsor, United Kingdom.

At the meetings, the president is expected to discuss power, politics, business, youth and women development, and the future of the Commonwealth.

The President and his team will also be joined by world leaders, development experts, and policymakers from 53 countries, as they all represent 2.4 billion people from the member states that make up the Commonwealth.

Under the theme “Towards a Common Future”, the summit will focus on addressing common challenges across the Commonwealth and work to deliver a more prosperous, secure, sustainable and fairer future in a post-Brexit world.

TheCable’s Mayowa Tijani will crisscross London and Windsor to bring you real-time updates on the deliberations and decisions of the global leaders, with specifics on how these decisions affect Nigeria and the African continent as a whole.

COMMONWEALTH SPOTLIGHT AND EVENTS

President Muhammadu Buhari is expected at a number of meeting throughout the week. He is billed to lead the Nigerian delegation to the UK-Nigeria Trade and Investment Forum 2018 in London on Tuesday, April 17. The President is also going to be at Africa Leaders Roundtable on Wednesday.

The President will join his counterparts at different executive sessions for heads of government of member states and a dinner with Queen Elizabeth II.

Aisha Buhari, the wife of the president, is expected to be at the Queen’s dinner for Commonwealth Heads of government and their spouses.

Amina Mohammed, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, and former minister of environment in Nigeria, will be speaking at the opening session of the Women’s forum on the theme: “Upholding the sustainable development goals (SDGs)”.

Attahiru Jega, former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), will also be speaking at the women’s forum on “Violence against women in elections”. He will be sharing insights on Nigeria’s historic election and what the world can learn about protecting women in elections.

Babatunde Fashola, the minister of power, works and housing, will be speaking at the Commonwealth Peoples’ Forum in Westminster on “A Tale of Three Cities”. This session is structured to examine accountable governance through the eyes of current and former leaders of Commonwealth cities. It will reflect on holding national institutions and local leaders accountable to diverse constituents.

Segun Awolowo,  the chief executive officer (CEO) Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) will also be speaking at the women’s forum on “diversity and women’s economic empowerment” in the Commonwealth.

George Oguntade, the Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK  and Geoffrey Onyeama, Nigeria’s minister of Foreign Affairs are expected to attend high-profile meetings throughout the week.

Okechukwu Enelamah, minister for trade and investment; Udo Udoma, minister for budget and national planning; Makanti Baru, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will all be attending the UK-Nigeria Trade and Investment Forum.

Kayode Fayemi, minister of mines and steel development; Yewande Sadiku, CEO, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission; and Chiedu Osakwe, director general, Nigerian Office For Trade Negotiations, are also scheduled to attend the trade forum.

Follow TheCable and OluwamayowaTJ, for up-to-the-minute updates as the meetings and all four forums come together under one roof in London for the first time in the history of the Commonwealth.

Come, let us make history together!