United States President Barack Obama has designated State Counsellor
Thomas Shannon as the leader of a presidential delegation to the centenary in
Abuja.
A statement in Abuja on Wednesday by the State Department said Shannon
would meet with government officials and participate in high-level activities
with other world leaders during the centenary.
The US official, who is expected to deliver a message from Obama to
Nigeria, would also travel to Lagos for discussions on a range of issues of
mutual interest and interact with Nigerian youths.
Also, President of the Swiss Confederation, Didier Burkhalter, has
sent a letter of congratulations to President Goodluck Jonathan on the nation’s
centenary.
Burkhalter would be represented at the celebrations by the Swiss
Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Hans-Rudolf Hodel.
“May the ties of confidence and friendship which so happily exist
between our two countries continue to flourish in the coming centenary,’’ the Swiss
president wrote.
The major highlight of the week-long activities includes an
international conference on peace and security in Africa on Thursday to be
attended by several world leaders.
The British colonial authorities had on January 1, 1914 amalgamated what
were then the separate protectorates of Southern Nigeria and Northern Nigeria.
The amalgamation gave birth to the single geo-political entity known as
Nigeria.
The celebrations will also feature the conferment of honours on 100
Nigerians, with about 40 per cent of the awards to be presented posthumously
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Politics