According to reports gathered, he will make his first trip to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, for a summit and another five-day visit to his country home, Daura, in katsina State.
He will be away till next week Wednesday.
This information was confirmed in a statement given by the President's spokesman, Garba Shehu;
The President will be attending the 5th Gas Exporting Countries Forum Summit in Malabo".
the Malabo Summit provides a veritable platform for President Buhari to reaffirm Nigeria’s commitment to the broad objectives of the GECF, which among others, seek to ‘support the sovereign rights of member countries over their natural gas resources and their ability to independently plan and manage the sustainable, efficient and environmentally-conscious development, use and conservation of natural gas resources for the benefit of their people.’
Other gas producing countries expected at the summit include Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Bolivia, Iran, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Kazakhstan and Norway.
The countries “account for 70 percent and 80 percent of global gas reserves and production respectively”, Mr. Garba Shehu, in the statement noted;
“The idea of the GECF was first mooted in 2001 when the First Ministerial Meeting held in Tehran, Iran, while the First GECF otherwise called Gas Summit, took place in Doha, Qatar in 2011 with Nigeria represented at the highest level.
“Indeed, President Buhari had attended the Third Gas Summit in Tehran in November 2015. This Fifth Gas Summit in Malabo is the first time the biennial meeting will be hosted in Africa.”
An invitation to Buhari to attend the summit was delivered to him on November 19 by the Special Envoy of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Mr. Gabriel Mbega Obiang Lima, in Abuja.
“The Nigerian delegation will also use the opportunity to discuss current trends in the global gas market, potential policies for the energy sector, and opportunities for collaboration.
“At the end of the 5th Gas Summit, the Malabo Declaration is expected to be adopted.”
Those to be on the President’s entourage are the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva; Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite; and the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kolo Kyari. Punch reports
“After the Summit, President Buhari will head for Daura, Katsina State, on a five-day official visit”, it said.
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