President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to Abuja after visits to five states (Bauchi, Lagos, Katsina, Kano and Jigawa) in the country and a trip to Senegal.

Before departing for Lagos on January 23, Mr Buhari had attended APC rallies in Bauchi. The president departed Lagos for Senegal on Tuesday after a two-day official visit to the state. While in Lagos, the president inaugurated the Lekki Deep Sea Port, and the Imota Rice Mill projected to create more than 300,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Mr Buhari also inaugurated the Bestaf Lubricant at MRS Holdings Company Limited, Apapa, the historic first phase of the Blue Line of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit, and the John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History on Tuesday.

The first phase of the Lagos Blue Rail Line, taking a ride from the Marina Station to National Theatre Station, executed by the State Government, which spans 13km, has five stations – Mile 2, Suru-Alaba, Orile Iganmu, National Theatre and Marina.

The Nigerian leader arrived in Senegal on January 24, to attend the 2nd Dakar International Conference on Agriculture. The high-level Dakar second summit was hosted by President Macky Sall of Senegal and the Chairperson of the African Union.

The conference, which seeks to create favourable conditions for achieving food security in Africa, was convened jointly by the government of Senegal and the African Development Bank.

In his goodwill message to the Feed Africa Summit of Heads of State and Government on Wednesday in Dakar, Buhari welcomed the provision of 538.05 million Dollars for the first phase of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) for Nigeria programme. The African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development provided the facility.

Mr Buhari held a bilateral meeting with the president of Ireland, Michael Higgins, on the sideline of the Dakar conference on agriculture.

The Nigerian president, who returned to Nigeria on Wednesday night, embarked on another official visit to Katsina on Thursday. While in Katsina, he inaugurated projects across the state and visited the Emir of Daura, Farouk Umar Farouk.

Mr Buhari inaugurated the Muhammadu Buhari Meteorological Institute undertaken by the Ministry of Aviation, the Darma Rice Mill in Batagarwa and the Katsina State General Hospital. He also inspected ongoing work on the first flyover in Katsina, which had reached 90 per cent completion in the Government Reserved Area.

The president hosted the APC presidential candidate Bola Tinubu at his country home Daura. 

Mr Buhari had on Monday, and Tuesday visited Kano and Jigawa, respectively. During his one-day official visit to Jigawa on Tuesday, the president visited four local government areas to inaugurate some projects, including the Hadejia Valley Irrigation Scheme at Auyo, Birnin Kudu Specialist Hospital, Malam Alu Integrated Agro-Allied Farm, Birnin Kudu, and the dualised Unity-Pentagon-Fanisau Road.

The president unveiled a 50.3 metres flag pole at the farm, described as the tallest in the country. Before returning to Abuja on Tuesday evening, Mr Buhari also had an aerial view of some roads, infrastructure, bridges and places affected by the September flooding disaster, which affected many parts of Jigawa. 

(NAN)