President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will, on Tuesday, depart Abuja for Lagos to participate in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as the regional bloc marks a major milestone in its integration journey.
The Lagos leg of the golden jubilee celebration, which was flagged off in Accra, Ghana, last month, will bring together regional leaders and key stakeholders.
The President, who currently chairs the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, is expected to highlight the bloc’s achievements over the past five decades during a commemorative event at Eko Hotels and Suites.
Part of the celebration includes a symbolic re-enactment of the 1975 declaration that established ECOWAS.
This will take place at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in Victoria Island, where a panel discussion will follow a keynote review of ECOWAS’s journey by Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, Chairman of the NIIA and former Minister of External Affairs.
Also scheduled to participate is former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (Rtd), the only surviving signatory to the original ECOWAS treaty. Gowon will attend all ceremonies and deliver an address during the Lagos festivities.
Dr Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, will deliver the welcome address, setting the tone for what officials say will be both a celebration and a strategic reflection on the future of the sub-regional bloc.
In addition to the ECOWAS event, President Tinubu will commission several high-profile infrastructure projects as part of his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
These include the official inauguration of 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 project, and the 7th Axial Road.
Tinubu will also conduct the virtual commissioning of completed projects across northern Nigeria. These include the Kano-Kanwar-Danja-Hadejiya Section II Road and Yakasai-Zalli Road. He will also flag off new works such as the Kano Northern By-pass, Zaria-Hunkuyi-Dabai Section I, Dabai-Kafur-Malumfashi, and the Malumfashi-Dayi-Yashe-Gidan Mutum Daya Section III.
The President is expected to observe the Eid-el-Kabir prayers at the State House Mosque, Dodan Barracks, before returning to Abuja.
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