Buhari Jets Out To New York For UN General Assembly

President Muhammadu Buhari has departed Nigeria for New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

The President left the country with his wife, Aisha.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, had announced that the President will be departing from the country for the event today.

The 73rd Session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA73) officially opened on September 18, 2018, with the theme, ‘Making the United Nations relevant to all People: Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies.’

According to Adesina, the high point of President Buhari’s participation will be his address to the General Assembly on Tuesday.

The President is expected to reaffirm Nigeria’s commitment to international peace and security; sustainable socio-economic development; disarmament and denuclearisation; youth and women empowerment; climate change; rule of law and human rights; among others.

He is also expected to canvass international support for the fight against corruption; the return of illicit assets; counter-terrorism and insurgency; curbing irregular migration; re-settling Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs); among other things.

Also, President Buhari and his delegation will participate in a meeting on the fight against Tuberculosis organised by the World Health Organisation as Nigeria currently ranks seventh among the high TB-burden countries globally, and second in Africa.

The Nigerian delegation is expected to attend the Mandela Peace Summit, which is a high-level Meeting on Global Peace in honour of the centenary birth of the late South African President and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nelson Mandela.

Other side-events lined up for the Nigerian delegation include a high-level meeting on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit; the Second Annual Bloomberg Global Business Forum; High-Level Meeting on Action for Peace-Keeping; Commemoration and Promotion of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.