SGF and Chief of Staff were part of the dignitaries who welcomed President Buhari, he was also given birthday cards
By Kehinde Okeowo
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has returned from Turkey.
This was contained in a message by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, who said, “President Muhammadu Buhari is back in Abuja after attending the three-day Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit in Istanbul”
The President was received on Sunday by the Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, and Permanent Secretary, State House, Alhaji Tijjani Umar, on arrival at the State House, Abuja.
He received a birthday card from the Chief of Staff Prof Ibrahim Gambari, Administrative Officer Alhaji Abubakar Maikano, and other aides upon his arrival, he also took pictures with his son Yusuf, who was recently turbanned Talban Daura, and other aides.
President Buhari had on Thursday, departed Abuja for Istanbul to attend the third Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit, hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Republic of Turkey.
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He was accompanied on the trip by his wife, Aisha Buhari; the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Defence, Maj-Gen. Bashir Magashi (Rtd); FCT, Mohammed Bello; Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire; Agriculture, Mohammed Abubakar; Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo.
Others on the trip are the National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (Rtd); and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ahmed Rufai Abubakar.
While in Turkey, the President called on the Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit to provide concrete support to help defeat terrorism and insurgency on the African continent.
He also said Boko Haram terrorist group, though fragmented by internal strife and degraded by Nigeria’s defense forces, is still active and preying on soft targets.
He expressed delight that the Summit convened by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has given due consideration to the issue of terrorism, while also focusing on development and infrastructure in Africa.
‘‘Another area this Partnership must focus on, is the global challenge of climate change which is impacting us in Nigeria, Turkey, across Africa, and indeed across the world.
‘‘It has become a catalyst for conflict through food insecurity, drying up of lakes; loss of livelihood, and youth migration, among others.
‘‘The trend is the same around the world where communities are overwhelmed by forest fires, rising sea levels, flood, drought, and desertification.
‘‘I want to seize this opportunity to appeal for support for initiatives such as Africa’s Great Green Wall on Environment and Land Management, which is designed to fight the effects of climate change and desertification in Africa.
‘‘The initiative aims to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land in the 11 countries of the Sahel-Sahara strip, capture 250 million tons of carbon and, create 10 million green jobs by 2030,’’ Buhari said.
On the global coronavirus pandemic, President Buhari urged nations to follow the example of Africa-Turkey cooperation, which emphasises solidarity and support in tackling the challenge.
‘‘The pandemic is a global challenge which calls for global solidarity and solutions and the Africa-Turkey cooperation model has proved to be an example to the world.
‘‘Not only has there been mutual support to respond to the pandemic but also mutual support to build resilience and sustainable development in other sectors.
‘‘We also commend the African Union for the excellent role it has been playing in coordinating the implementation process of the Partnership,’’ he said.