Buhari Returns From Belgium Amid Uncertainty Over Electoral Bill

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Saturday evening, returned from a 4-day trip to Brussels, in Belgium, where he participated in the just-concluded 6th Europe-Africa summit which was held from February 17 – 18, 2022.

Buhari’s aircraft which left Brussels at about 01:00 pm (Nigerian time), arrived at the Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, around 07:00 pm.

While in Belgium, the President Buhari on Thursday published a piece in The Politico calling for a new deal that prioritises the needs of Africa as a continent and its states.

According to him, the high rate of talent drain from Africa, which is provoking political crises in the EU, could not be resolved by the Fortress Europe approach.

Instead, more opportunities must be created for Africans at home, providing better alternatives to desperate journeys through the Mediterranean.

In the piece titled ‘It’s time for a new economic deal between the EU and Africa, Buhari argued that the economic relationship between the two continents must be recalibrated to focus on job creation.

At a roundtable discussion on Peace, Security and Governance on Friday, Buhari called for stronger support from the European Union in the condemnation and imposition of weighty sanctions on countries that engage in unconstitutional change of governments.

He maintained that the sanctions should also apply to leaders who manipulate constitutions in favour of extension of term limits.

The President also called on European leaders as partners in promoting democracy and good governance to lend their weight behind measures put in place by the African Union to stem the tide of unconstitutional leadership changes, rearing its head again on the continent.

President Buhari returned to the country amid uncertainty on his assent to the Electoral Act Ammendment Bill as well as discussions with Progressive Governors for a possible Chairmanship consensus candidate ahead of the February 26 All Progressives Congress National Convention.

Belgium would be the President’s second international destination in 2022.

On February 4, 2022, he arrived Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, ahead of the 35th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Africa Union Heads of State and Government.