Nigerian vice president to witness signing of Sudan peace accord

ABUJA, Jan 6, 2005 (Xinhua) — Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar will leave here Saturday to witness Sunday’s signing of a peace agreement between the Sudanese government and southern rebels to end a 21-year-old civil war, the official News Agency of Nigeria reported Thursday.

Abubakar will represent Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo who is also chairman of the African Union to join other world leaders to witness the historic accord between the government and rebels scheduled to take place in Nairobi, capital of Kenya.

The vice president will be accompanied on the trip by Nigeria’s National Security Adviser Aliyu Mohammed, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Alhaji Abubakar Tanko and his senior aides.

According to the Vice President Office, Abubakar will leave the country on Saturday and return home on Sunday.

The Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) had in May signed six protocols on key issues relating to the peace process, including power sharing arrangements and the administration of three contested areas during a six-year interim period.

The final chapters of a peace deal signed on December 31 between them are believed to pave the way for the comprehensive accord to be signed on Sunday to end the longest-running civil war in Africa.