Almost 12
Heads of State from various countries around the world arrived at the
Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Wednesday
ahead of Nigeria’s centenary anniversary today, Thursday 27 February 2014.
The
visiting Heads of State were received at the airport by some members of the
Federal Executive Council.
Those that were received at the airport include Presidents Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibi; Paul Kagame of Rwanda; Yahya Jammeh of Gambia and Prosper Bazombaza of Burundi.
President
Helen Sirleaf of Liberia and the former Secretary-General of Organisation for
African Union, Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, who led the Tanzanian delegation also
arrived in Abuja on Wednesday for the celebration.
Also arrived
in Abuja were the President of Mauritania, Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz; Ethiopian
President, Mr. Hailemarian Desalegh; and the European Union President, Mr. Jose
Manuel Barroso.
The
Zambian Minister of Defence, Mr. Edgar Lungu, will represent the Zambian
President, Micheal Saata. Israel is also being represented by its Minister of
Agriculture, Mr. Yair Shamir.
An
official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed that 42 Heads of State
were being expected to attend the celebration.
Meanwhile,
United States President Barack Obama has designated State Counsellor Thomas
Shannon as the leader of a presidential delegation to the centenary in Abuja.
A
statement in Abuja on Wednesday by the State Department said Shannon would meet
with government officials and participate in high-level activities with other
world leaders during the centenary.
The US
official, who is expected to deliver a message from Obama to Nigeria, would
also travel to Lagos for discussions on a range of issues of mutual interest
and interact with Nigerian youths.
Also,
President of the Swiss Confederation, Didier Burkhalter, has sent a letter
of congratulations to President Goodluck Jonathan on the nation’s centenary.
Burkhalter
would be represented at the celebrations by the Swiss Ambassador to Nigeria,
Dr. Hans-Rudolf Hodel.
“May the
ties of confidence and friendship which so happily exist between our two
countries continue to flourish in the coming centenary,’’ the Swiss president
wrote.
The major
highlight of the week-long activities includes an international conference on
peace and security in Africa on Thursday to be attended by several world
leaders.
The
British colonial authorities had on January 1, 1914 amalgamated what were then
the separate protectorates of Southern Nigeria and Northern Nigeria.
The
amalgamation gave birth to the single geo-political entity known as Nigeria.
The
celebrations will also feature the conferment of honours on 100 Nigerians, with
about 40 per cent of the awards to be presented posthumously.
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