Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has departed Lagos for Accra, Ghana, to represent Nigeria at an Extraordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.
Senior Special Assistant to Osinbajo on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, in a statement issued in Abuja, said the summit would focus on the political situation in Mali and other parts of the region.
The VP is expected to join other leaders from West Africa to review progress made by Mali’s military junta on the return of the country to democratic rule.
The summit will receive and consider an updated report from ECOWAS Mediator in Mali, former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan who visited Bamako between March 18 and March 20 to meet with the head of the junta.
The heads of state will also review the situations in the Republics of Burkina Faso and Guinea.
ECOWAS had roundly condemned the military takeover of governments in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, imposing sanctions on the military junta in those countries
ECOWAS leaders at their last meeting in February affirmed that only democratically elected governments would be recognised and supported in West Africa.
Osinbajo will be accompanied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Zubairu Dada, Special Adviser on Economic Matters, Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu and other top Nigerian officials.