Tinubu jets out to Kenya on Saturday for AU meeting, the third foreign trip since assumption of office

President Bola Tinubu will on Saturday fly to Nairobi, Kenyan capital, to participate in the 5th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting (MYCM) of the African Union (AU), the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the Regional Mechanisms (RMs) and the African Union member-states.

Mr Dele Alake, the Presidential spokesman, disclosed this to newsmen on Friday in Abuja.

He said: “As the Chairperson of ECOWAS, the Nigerian leader will join Heads of State and Government, Foreign Ministers of the AU Member-States, and high-level dignitaries at the mid-year meeting which will take place on Sunday, July 16.

“The President will present a report on the status of regional integration in ECOWAS, highlighting actions carried out during the period under review by ECOWAS institutions, member-states, the private sector, and other stakeholders to deepen integration through trade, free movement of persons, investment promotion, infrastructure development, peace, security and stability.”

The 5th MYCM, with the theme, “Acceleration of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation,” will bring together the Bureau of the AU Assembly, comprising the Heads of State and Government from Comoros, Botswana, Burundi, and Senegal, as well as the leaders of the eight RECs.

These regional economic communities include ECOWAS chaired by Nigeria, the East African Community (EAC), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN SAD), the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).

Tinubu will be accompanied by some senior government officials.