Buhari returns to Abuja from OIC summit
By Mathew Dadiya, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to Nigeria from Makkah, Saudi Arabia where he attended the 50th summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
President Buhari departed Nigeria on Thursday last week to attend the 14th session of the summit of the OIC, which held on May 31-June 1 and hosted by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
The summit convened under the theme: “Makkah al-Mukarramah summit: Hand in hand toward the future,” was attended by heads of state and governments of member states.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu had in a statement, explained that the summit was aimed at developing a unified stance on events in the Islamic world.
The Nigerian leader addressed the forum on the need for member countries to unite and work together to combat common challenges such as terrorism and violent extremism.
He passed a vote of confidence on the intervention programmes of the various institutions under the OIC for the impact they are making in Nigeria and other African countries.
Buhari, who read the collective statement of African countries at the 14th summit of the OIC in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, commended the robust interventions of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in key sectors such as agriculture, trade and investment.
Buhari had at the summit noted: “The robust interventions of the various OIC institutions and principally the Islamic Development Bank group have been effective in such key sectors as trade and investment, agriculture, rural development and food security, science, technology and innovation, poverty alleviation as well as women and youth empowerment.’’
In the specific case of Nigeria, the President acknowledged the support of OIC member states in countering the menace of terrorism and armed criminality in West Africa, the Lake Chad area and the Sahel countries.
Buhari’s aircraft touched ground at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at about 5:30pm.
