President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience, will depart Abuja on Tuesday to attend the Emancipation Day of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica’s Independence Anniversary Celebration.
This was disclosed in a press statement issued by Mr Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati on Monday.
According to Mr Abati, Mr Jonathan and his wife “will review the Kambule Street Procession, the major event marking the Trinidad and Tobago Emancipation Day on Wednesday, August 1, with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Kamla Persad-Bissessar.”
The statement said that Mr Jonathan “will also present a goodwill message to the procession, pay a courtesy call on the President of Trinidad and Tobago, Prof. George Maxwell Richards, and his wife, Dr. Jean Ramjohn Richards, and meet with members of the Nigerian community resident in Trinidad and Tobago.
The President and his wife will attend the Emancipation Day Cultural Programme at the Lidj Yasu Omowale Emancipation Village, and be hosted to a State Banquet by their host.
“Jonathan’s official visit to Jamaica will commence on Thursday, August 2, with a Special Commemorative Session of Parliament in his honour, after which he will be hosted by the Jamaican Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller,” the statement said.
“Other activities of President Jonathan in Jamaica will include participation in a Mello Go Round at the National Stadium, a bilateral meeting in the Prime Minister’s office, a meeting with the Nigerian Community and a luncheon hosted by the Governor-General of Jamaica, Patrick Allen.
“President Jonathan is expected back in Abuja on Saturday, August 4, 2012.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Emancipation Day is celebrated to mark the end of slavery for Africans in the British Caribbean on August 1, 1838, and has been observed as a national holiday in Trinidad and Tobago since 1985, while Jamaica attained independence from Great Britain in 1962.
