President Muhammadu Buhari is back
to Nigeria after a four-day working visit to Turkey - The president’s official
aircraft landed at
the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at 4.05pm on
Sunday, October 22 - The president and his wife, Aisha, was received at the
airport by senior government officials on arrival President Muhammadu Buhari on
Sunday, October 22 returned to Abuja after a successful four-day working visit
to Ankara and Istanbul in Turkey. News Agency of Nigeria reports that the
president’s official aircraft which took off from Ataturk airport, Istanbul, at
about 12pm (Turkish time), landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport,
Abuja at 4.05pm.
Buhari, accompanied by his wife,
Aisha, was received at the airport by senior government officials, including
his chief of staff, Abba Kyari; Inspector-General of Police, Idris Ibrahim;
minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Mohammad Bello and
other presidential aides.
While in Ankara, Buhari was hosted
by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyeb Erdogan, for “a fairly long one-on-one
meeting’’, on Thursday, October 19, before the bilateral meeting that involved
their ministers and members of their delegations. In a statement issued in
Abuja on Sunday, October 22, by the president’s spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu,
said the outing was Buhari’s first visit to Turkey since his election in 2015,
but the second meeting with Erdogan who as prime minister visited Abuja in
March, 2016.
He said that Buhari’s objective
during both visits focused on issues of security and anti-terrorism;
agricultural cooperation and trade cooperation. Others were education and
health; transport and connectivity; energy sector cooperation and increased
private sector participation. Shehu noted that the visit had achieved quite a
lot on the stated objectives. Buhari, who participated in the 9th D-8 Summit in
Istanbul on Oct. 20, also held bilateral meetings with some member-countries.
“The meetings have also helped to enhance momentum in ties between Nigeria and
the rest of the `D-8’ member-countries and the establishment of a positive
working relationship, especially between Buhari and Erdogan,’’ Shehu said.
Those on Buhari's entourage included
the minister of interior, General Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd); the
comptroller-general of NCS, Colonel Hami Ali (rtd) and the Attorney-General and
minister of justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN). Others included the ministers of
foreign affairs, Geoffery Onyeama; defence, Brig-General Mansur Dan Ali (rtd);
education, Adamu Adamu and industry, trade and investment Okechukwu Enelamah.
The national security adviser, retired Maj-General Babagana Munguno (NSA), the
acting director-general of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Arab
Yadam and Nigeria’s ambassador to Turkey, Ilyas Sulaiman Paragalda also
accompanied Buhari to the occasion. President Buhari arrived in Turkey on
Wednesday, October 18 to take part in the Developing 8 (D-8) Summit, which
began on Friday, October 20. The president arrived in Turkey, in company of his
wife, Aisha, as well as other dignitaries.
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