President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will leave Nigeria on Sunday to attend the Joint Arab-Islamic Summit in Saudi Arabia.
The summit, set to begin on Monday, November 11, is being held at the invitation of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The scheduled trip was made public by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, on Saturday.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja on Sunday for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to attend the Joint Arab-Islamic Summit, which will focus on the current situation in the Middle East,” presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said in a statement on Saturday.
“The Summit will commence on Monday, November 11, 2024. It is being held at the invitation of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and follows last year’s summit in the same Saudi city.
“During the summit, President Tinubu is expected to address the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict, emphasising Nigeria’s strong call for an immediate ceasefire and the urgent need for a peaceful resolution.”
At the event, Nigeria will be advocating renewed efforts to “revive the two-state solution as a pathway to lasting peace in the region,” Onanuga said.
Tinubu will not be traveling alone. Other government officials like the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar; National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; and the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mohammed Mohammed, will be part of his entourage to Saudi Arabia.
“After the conclusion of the summit, President Tinubu will return to Abuja,” the presidential spokesman said.
In another development, President Tinubu has approved the reappointment of Abdullahi Mustapha as the Director General of the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA), for a second tenure of five years.
This is contained in a press statement issued by Toyin Omozuwa, press secretary to the NBRDA D-G in Abuja on Saturday.
According to the statement, Mustapha’s reappointment was conveyed in a letter signed by the Secretary to the Government (SGF), George Akume.
“Mustapha’s second tenure is with effect from 31st October, 2024 and is in line with the provisions of Section 10 (1) and (3) of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (Establishment) Act, 2022,” it said.
Omozuwa said that Industry experts consider the reappointment as an expression of President Tinubu’s confidence in Mustapha’s ability to drive innovation towards attaining food security.
According to him, the reappointment would enable the DG to complete his work in enhancing pharmaceutical production, as well as positioning Nigeria at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Mustapha is a Professor of Bioinorganic Chemistry and hails from Dambatta Local Government Area of Kano State.