December 19, (THEWILL) –Â President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to Abuja after attending the third Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit, hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Republic of Turkey.
The president touched down at the presidential wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Sunday at about 2:35 pm..
A statement by senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, said, “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 pm.”
He was received by his chief of staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, and the minister of the federal capital territory, Mohammed Bello.
The president, who arrived in the company of his wife, Aisha, had been in Turkey for four days.
The third Turkey African Summit provided an opportunity for the review of cooperation between Turkey and African countries.
While in Turkey, President Buhari said that as part of sustained efforts at keeping Nigerians safer, Nigeria will partner with the Republic of Turkey to deal with the current security challenges facing the nation.
On Friday at a bilateral meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Erdogan, shortly before the official kickoff of the Summit, President Buhari said Turkey has practical experience dealing with challenges over the years and Nigeria stands 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.
While speaking at the Summit, Buhari said the Boko Haram terrorist group, though fragmented by internal strife and degraded by Nigeria’s defence forces, is still active and preying on soft targets.
He expressed delight that the Summit convened by President Recep Erdogan of Turkey has given due consideration to the issue of terrorism, while also focusing on development and infrastructure in Africa.
