President Buhari Departs For New York, to Meet With President Obama

President Barack Obama and Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari will meet on Tuesday in New York, on the sidelines of the US leader’s final appearance at the UN General Assembly session.

The 71st UN General session opens on Monday. It will be President Buhari’s second appearance since he came to power on 29 May last year. The meeting confirmed by White House was not on the itinerary of the Nigerian leader released on Friday. Obama is also scheduled to meet with presidents of Iraq and Colombia. Obama will discuss with President Buhari about continued U.S. support for security and economic changes in the country, as well the government’s efforts to counter the terrorist group Boko Haram. 

 Nigeria and the US have pending agreement over the sale of US military equipment, especially attack helicopters to fight the insurgents.Buhari-Obama In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, President Buhari would deliver Nigeria’s statement at the opening of the General Debate of the Assembly on “The Sustainable Development Goals: A Universal Push to Transform Our World.” 

Adesina revealed that the president would also attend a high-level summit to be hosted by the UN, on “Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants’’. “The summit, which is the first of its kind organised by the General Assembly at the Heads of State and Government level, is expected to come up with a blueprint for a better international response to enhance protection of migrants and refugees.’’ He also said that Buhari would deliver a keynote address on “Taking Climate Action toward Sustainable Development in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin.” The president’s aide disclosed that leaders of member-countries of Lake Chad Basin would attend the summit, organised by Nigerian government, to highlight the urgent need to mobilise international response to the situation in the Chad Basin.