President Muhammadu Buhari will today leave Abuja for Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, to attend a United Nations conference on the future of land, regarding desertification, drought, degradation, rights, restoration, and implications for national and world economies.

Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, disclosed this in a press statement he issued Sunday.

President Buhari, as the statement indicated, will participate in a Summit of Heads of States and Government, May 9th–10th, 2022, and join world leaders at the Sofitel Hotel for the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), with the theme “Land. Life. Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity.”

The convention is aimed at taking action to ensure that land, the lifeline on the planet, continues to benefit present and future generations.

To achieve the visionary objective of land restoration and balance, COP15 will bring together leaders from governments, the private sector, civil society and other key stakeholders from around the world to drive progress in the future of sustainable management of one of the most precious assets, land.

The convention will explore links between land and other key development issues, which will be discussed during the high-level segment, including a Heads of States Summit, high-level roundtables, and interactive dialogue sessions.

“COP 15 is a key moment in the fight against desertification, land degradation, and drought. Accordingly, it will build on the findings of the second edition of the Global Land Outlook and offer a concrete response to the interconnected challenges of land degradation, climate change, and biodiversity loss as the world steps into the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

“Drought, land restoration, and related enablers such as land rights, gender equality, and youth empowerment are among the top items on the conference agenda,” the statement stated.

President Buhari, who is also the President of the Great Green Wall in Africa, will be accompanied on the trip by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; the Minister of Environment, Mohammed H. Abdullahi; the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Mahmoud Mohammed; and the Minister of Water Resources, Engr Suleiman H. Adamu.

Also on the President’s team to Abidjan are the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Monguno; Director General, National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ahmed Rufai Abubakar; and Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa.