The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), will receive the Democracy Icon Award from the Economic Community of West African States with just 83 days left in office.
This was disclosed at a bilateral discussion with Buhari outside of the ongoing United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries in Doha, Qatar, by Umaro Embalo, the president of Guinea-Bissau and the bloc’s chairman.
As soon as the community’s new headquarters building in Abuja is finished, President Buhari’s name will be on the roll of honor there, according to a statement released on Tuesday by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
The announcement reads, “ECOWAS to award President Buhari with the democracy icon award.”
Embalo pointed out that the honor recognizes Buhari’s contributions to the sub-regional defense and advancement of democracy as a form of government.
He claimed that the Nigerian leader had taken the lead in supporting democratic governments in West Africa and had fought hard to prevent the rise of authoritarian regimes.
Part of the statement read, “For this, said the ECOWAS Chairman, President Buhari will have his name on the Roll of Honor in the community’s new headquarters building upon completion in Abuja, so that future generations of West African citizens will be aware of the greatness he achieved and to copy his laudable examples.
The President responded positively and emphasized that because democracy connects people of all backgrounds and cultures, it is a reliable means of achieving national growth.