President Bola Tinubu Saturday, congratulated Shirley Botchwey, Ghana’s minister of foreign affairs and regional integration, on her election as the incoming Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.
On Friday, leaders of the 56 Commonwealth nations meeting in Apia, Samoa, elected Botchwey, a 61-year-old former lawmaker, who had served as Ghana’s foreign minister for the last seven years, as the 7th Secretary-General.
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president, information and strategy, said in a statement. that Botchwey had the backing of Nigeria for the top commonwealth job.
Ms Botchwey is the second African to be elected secretary-general of the Commonwealth in its 75-year history, after Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria, who served in that position from July 1, 1990, to March 31, 2000.
“He (Tinubu) trusts that Botchwey’s leadership experience will bring renewed energy to the Commonwealth’s efforts to advance meaningful economic and political partnerships that will drive development and amplify the bloc’s voice in global affairs,” Mr. Onanuga said.
Meanwhile Vice President Kassim Shettima failed to make the trip to the Pacific Island nation where the summit held.
The presidential jet in which Mr. Shettima and Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar was hit by an object while refueling at the JFK Airport in New York. The Nigeria delegation has since returned home unable to attending the meeting which ends Saturday.
