President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja to Liberia, Monrovia, today, where he will be attending the country’s 175th independence anniversary celebrations.
The President, the special guest of honour at the event, will join other world leaders to rejoice with Liberians at the event, with the theme: “Fostering Unity, Protecting Our Peace for Development and Prosperity”.
A statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said: “Nigeria played a leading role in the stabilisation of Liberia in the early 1990s, leading to the establishment of democracy and has continued to assist the country, especially through Technical Aids Corps scheme.
In 2019, President Buhari was conferred with the highest national honour in the country, the Grand Cordon in the Most Venerable Order of Knighthood of the Pioneers of the Republic of Liberia…” the statement said.
President Buhari, who will be accompanied on the trip by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama and Director-General of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb. Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, is expected back in the country later today.
The Presidency said “the trip to Liberia comes at a time when political instability and the return of coups-d’état have upended two to three decades of democratic order in the sub-region.
“Liberia, Sierra-Leone along with Nigeria are going into elections in 2023 and President Buhari is expected to emphasise to them the importance of free, fair and credible elections,” it said.