President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday evening returned to Abuja after a five-day state visit to Lisbon, Portugal, where Nigeria and the European nation signed Memorandum of Understanding in diverse sectors.
While in Lisbon, the Nigerian leader held several bilateral engagements which culminated into the signing of Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding between Nigeria and Portugal.
The MoUs signed include Political Consultations; Diplomatic Training, Research and the Exchange of Information and Documentation.
Cooperation in the field of Culture; and Cooperation in the Field of Women and Girls Development, Empowerment and Gender Affairs; Youths and Sports were also parts of the cooperation.
Buhari had earlier met with representatives of Nigerians living in Portugal, on Wednesday night, where he again cautioned Nigerians abroad against the use of social media to insult and incite from a safe and anonymous distance.
Rather, he urged them to always promote Nigeria’s unity.
According to the president, the social media can be a force for good, as well as a force for evil, urging all Nigerian citizens to make use of the social media for the general good of the society.
Also on Thursday in Lisbon, Buhari called for an increase in the volume of trade with Portugal as well as diversification to non-oil products.
The president made the call at a seminar between Nigeria and Portugal businesses during the state visit to Portugal.
According to the Nigerian leader, the two countries are in dire need of new investment opportunities following the devastation on global economies caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and, in recent times, the impact of Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Buhari also expressed the readiness of Nigeria to fill the natural gas gaps in Europe predicated by the current Russian-Ukrainian war.
Also on June 30, the president approved renewal of the appointment of Patience Oniha as the Director-General of the Debt Management Office for a second term of 5 years.
The president on Friday met with Carlos Moedas, Mayor of Lisbon and City Council Members, where he expressed gratitude and appreciation to them for accommodating Nigerians and those fleeing the war in Ukraine.
Buhari also used the occasion to congratulate him and his party on their electoral victory and his emergence as the Mayor of Lisbon.
The President’s media aide, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement, said the Nigerian leader thanked Carlis Moedas for graciously receiving the Nigerian delegation in the ‘beautiful and historic coastal city of Lisbon’.
Buhari also pledged Nigeria’s commitment to reducing marine plastic pollution from land-based sources and activities.
The president gave the assurance in a speech delivered on his behalf by the Minister of State for Environment, Sharon Ikeazor, at the 2022 UN Ocean Conference, in Lisbon, Portugal, on Friday.
While highlighting Nigeria’s effort at ensuring the health and sustainability of oceans, seas and marine resources, Buhari said that a national policy on plastic pollution and the road map on tackling solid and plastic waste management had been formulated and established.
Buhari, who lauded the UN for leading the process of effective ocean governance, said that Nigeria had mainstreamed ocean management into the economy, constituting a Presidential Committee on Sustainable Blue Economy.
He also announced that Nigeria had embarked on creation of two marine protected areas.
Also, the Permanent Secretary, State House, Abuja, Tijjani Umar, on July 1 revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari would inaugurate new Presidential Wing of the State House Clinic in December.
Umar, who made this known at the State House SERVICOM Unit Awards for the Year 2021 in Abuja, revealed that the construction work on the befitting health facility had already reached 75 per cent stage of completion.
According to him, the multi-billion naira medical facility will be one of the legacies the Buhari administration will leave behind for incoming administrations in the country.
Before departing for Lisbon on Tuesday, the president had held official engagements including the swearing in of Justice Olukayode Ariwoola as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria on June 27.
The swearing of Ariwoola, the next most senior in the hierarchy of the Supreme Court, as the new CJN followed the resignation of Justice Tanko Muhammed on health ground.
The president also on the same day met with Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, who updated him on security and socio-economic developments in the state.
Uzodinma, who later spoke to State House correspondents, said he used the opportunity of the meeting to thank the president for approving the hosting of this year’s Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration in Imo.
The governor, who also reacted to recent call by Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara that his citizens should apply for guns for self-protection, said there was no need for such actions in Imo.
The president also granted audience to some APC senators over the outcome of the party primaries and its implications for the party.
Buhari reassured that the leadership of All Progressives Congress would sustain the post-primaries healing process to ensure fairness, justice and unity before the 2023 general elections.
He said that complaints were received from some members and that machinery had been put in place by the National Working Committee to address their concerns.
(NAN)
