President Buhari Arrives In Washington DC for Nuclear Summit

President Buhari of Nigeria arrived early this morning at about 12:30am to participate at the 4th Nuclear Security Summit holding today 31st March 2016 in Washington DC. The President’s delegation includes Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, the National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd.) and the Director-General of Nigeria’s Nuclear Regulatory Agency and Prof Lawrence Anikwe Dim.

President Buhari will depart Washington DC for Abuja on Sunday. At plenary sessions of the summit which is dedicated to reinforcing international commitment to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, President Buhari has outlined that he will insist that while Nigeria will continue to sustain that commitment, world powers must respect the right of other countries to the peaceful use of nuclear energy for development purposes.

The President plans to reaffirm Nigeria’s stance that international efforts to ensure greater security of nuclear materials should maintain a balance between nuclear non-proliferation obligations and the indisputable right of Nigeria and other countries to harness nuclear energy and technology for socio-economic development.

Nigeria’s aspiration to begin the generation of electricity with nuclear energy.

While the intention is well and good, there needs to be a national discussion on the direction to take – clean renewable energy options should also be explored before the investments in nuclear energy is made.