Akpabio and Kalu Attend the Geneva IPU Summit

BY Segun Bakare
8 months ago

Godswill Akpabio, the president of the Nigerian Senate, and Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, arrived in Geneva, Switzerland on Friday for the 148th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly.

Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong escorted the Senate President, who headed the Nigerian delegation, to the function.

When Akpabio and his group arrived at the Geneva airport, Mr. Mxolisi Nkosi, the ambassador of South Africa, and Ambassador Abiodun Richards Adejola, the ambassador of Nigeria, met them.

The Special Assistant on Media to the Senate President, Jackson Udom, announced that this year’s event will be held from March 23rd to March 27th, 2024.

A letter signed by the Secretary and addressed to the President of the Nigerian Senate

Dear Mr. President, the 148th Assembly of the IPU and related meetings will take place in the International Conference Centre of Geneva (ICCG), Switzerland, from Saturday, March 23 to Wednesday, March 27, 2024. This is among the things that Martin Chungong, the General of the IPU, reads.

With great pleasure, we have enclosed comprehensive meeting details, including the agendas of the IPU statutory bodies. It is our sincere hope that the 148th Assembly will have representation from your parliament, and that the delegation led by you will actively participate in the proceedings.

Nigeria overcame a five-decade curse during the most recent IPU, which took place in Luanda, Angola, when Akpabio was chosen to join the global parliamentary body’s Executive Committee. When Nigeria last held the honor of serving on the IPU Executive Committee in 1964.

Founded in 1889, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is an international organization of national parliaments committed to advancing peace via parliamentary discourse and diplomacy. It has expanded to become a genuinely worldwide organization, with 179 of the 193 nations in the globe as members.

On March 7, 2024, Akpabio was also nominated to the African Parliamentary Union (APU) to serve on the Preparatory Committee of the IPU’s Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament.

The IPU enables parliaments and lawmakers to advance global peace, democracy, and sustainable development by facilitating parliamentary diplomacy.