Buhari returns from Turkey, to decide on Electoral Bill

This is according to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, who said in a statement on Sunday, “President Muhammadu Buhari is back in Abuja after attending the three-day Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit in Istanbul.

“The official BBJ aircraft, which he hadn’t used for several months as it underwent repairs and improvements, landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at exactly 2.35.”

© Thomson Reuters Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari speaks during the 75th anniversary celebrations of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, November 12, 2021. Julien de Rosa/ Pool via REUTERSThe purpose of Buhari’s trip to Turkey was to participate in the 3rd Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit with the theme, ‘Enhanced Partnership for Common Development and Prosperity’.

While in Turkey, the President said that as part of sustained efforts at keeping Nigerians safer, the country would partner the Republic of Turkey in dealing with the current security challenges facing the nation.

This was on Friday at a bilateral meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Erdogan, shortly before the commencement of the summit.

He said Turkey had practical experience dealing with challenges over the years and Nigeria stood to gain from that.

On Saturday, the President called on the Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit to provide concrete support to defeat terrorism and insurgency in Africa.

Buhari said the Boko Haram terrorist group, though fragmented by internal strife and degraded by Nigeria’s defence forces, was still active and preying on soft targets.

He expressed delight that the summit had given due consideration to the issue of terrorism, while also focusing on development and infrastructure in Africa.

Buhari returned on the 30-day deadline within which he is expected to assent or withhold his approval to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, which was transmitted to him on November 19, 2021, after both chambers of the National Assembly had passed it.

Amid heightened anxiety over the decision of Buhari on the bill, the Presidency said on Saturday that Buhari would make his decision known soon.