Seven heads of state have started arriving in Accra to support President Akufo-Addo in honouring the former President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou for contributing towards the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
A statue built in his honour would be unveiled on Friday, July 16, 2021 at the secretariat of AfCFTA in Accra. Presidents of Togo, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma, the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, the President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, and the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi would be at the ceremony.
In 2017, the African Union tasked Niger’s former-president Mr. Issoufou to ensure the activation of the secretariat of the AfCFTA.
As the A.U. transformed, Mr. Issoufou pushed for the establishment of the AfCFTA Secretariat, which Ghana beat six other nations to, to host the world’s biggest single trade area.
In March this year, former president Issoufou won the 2020 Ibrahim award for African leadership, which came with a cash prize of five million dollars.
It was in recognition of his decision to step down after two terms in office paving way for the first democratic transition between elected leaders since it became independent from France more than 60 years ago.
