President Muhammadu Buhari will join other world leaders for the coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort of the United Kingdom, respectively.
This was announced by the presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, in a statement on Wednesday.
According to Adesina, the President will fly to London, England, on Wednesday in order to attend the coronation scheduled for Saturday, May 6.
“Ahead of the coronation, the Commonwealth Secretariat will take advantage of the gathering of leaders in London to host a Commonwealth Summit for Presidents and Heads of Government of Commonwealth countries on Friday, May 5.
“President Buhari is billed to participate in the Summit which will deliberate on the Future of the Commonwealth and the Role of the Youth,” the statement partly read.
The President will be accompanied by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen Babagana Monguno (Rtd); the Director General, National Intelligence Agency, (NIA), Ambassador Ahmed Abubakar; the Chairperson of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa; and other senior government officials.
Buhari had in November met with King Charles III in Buckingham Palace to foster Nigeria’s bilateral relationship with the United Kingdom.
The President had said the current monarch, who was crowned king after the passing of his mother, “speaks very well of Nigeria and wants the relationship to continue and if possible improve”.
Nigeria, formerly a Great Britain colony, had attained independence on October 1, 1960 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II who died in September 2022 at the ripe age of 96.