Buhari Departs China For Nigeria After Summit

President Muhammadu Buhari is on his way back to the country after a six-day trip to China where he participated in the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

The Personal Assistant to the President on New Media, Mr Bashir Ahmed, revealed this via his Twitter handle.

According to him, the President’s aircraft departed the Beijing Capital International Airport on Thursday morning.

The FOCAC is a meeting of the Chinese government with over 50 African countries towards improving the cooperation in the Economic and other sectors.

Part of President Buhari’s last engagements in the Chinese capital before his departure was a meeting with business groups whom he asked to take advantage of the improved business environment in Nigeria and invest in key sectors of the economy.

He also solicited the assistance of the Chinese government towards the construction of the Mambilla Hydropower Project in Taraba State.

“I told President Xi (Jinping) that the Mambilla Hydropower Plant is Nigeria’s equivalent of China’s Three Gorges Dam, and that I look forward to him joining me for the groundbreaking ceremony in the not-too-distant future,” President Buhari had said on his Twitter handle on Wednesday.

On Saturday, President Buhari and Mr Xi witnessed the signing of an agreement worth $328m between Nigeria and China.

The concessional loan agreement was sealed between Galaxy Backbone Limited and Huawei Technologies Limited (HUAWEI) for the Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure Backbone Phase II (NICTIB II) project.

It was signed by the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adesoun, and the Director-General of International Development Agency, Wang Xiaotoa.

Nigeria and China also signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the One Belt One Road initiative (OBOR).