Tinubu Heads To Lagos For ECOWAS 50th Anniversary Celebration

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja on Tuesday for Lagos to join other regional leaders in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The golden jubilee celebration, which was formally launched in Accra last month, will continue in Lagos with a series of events, including a reenactment of the original 1975 declaration at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in Victoria Island.

As ECOWAS Chairman, Tinubu will deliver a speech at Eko Hotels and Suites, highlighting the bloc’s milestones over the past five decades.

Also scheduled to speak is the Chairman of NIIA and former Minister of External Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, who will review ECOWAS’s 50-year journey. A panel session will follow to further examine the regional body’s progress.

General Yakubu Gowon (Rtd), the only surviving Head of State who signed the original ECOWAS declaration, will attend all the events and deliver a speech at Eko Hotels.

President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Touray, will give the welcome address.

While in Lagos, Tinubu will also commission key federal infrastructure projects on Saturday, May 31. These include 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 Coastal Highway, and the 7th Axial Road.

He will also virtually commission the Kano-Kanwar-Danja-Hadejiya Section II Road and Yakasai-Zalli Road, and flag off additional projects including the Kano Northern By-pass, Zaria-Hunkuyi-Dabai Section I, Dabai-Kafur-Malumfashi, and Malumfashi-Dayi-Yashe-Gidan Mutum Daya Section III.

Tinubu is expected to observe the Eid-el-Kabir prayers at the State House, Dodan Barracks, before returning to Abuja.