Washington, DC — A 15-person delegation from the Constituency for Africa (CFA) met today (November 19th) with the former President of Nigeria, H.E. Goodluck Jonathan in downtown Washington.

This meeting was the first on President Jonathan’s one day visit to Washington. The purpose for the meeting was for the CFA delegation to hear President Jonathan’s thoughts on a range of issues and topics concerning developments in Nigeria and across the African continent.

President Jonathan lost his re-election bid in May to President Muhammadou Buhari, and in somewhat a rarity for the continent, accepted defeat and stepped down from power as spelled out in the Nigerian constitution.

During the two-hour meeting, President Jonathan addressed a range of issues including democracy and governance, trade, Africa’s infrastructure, power and energy, regional integration, issues of China’s relationship with Africa, and the role of Diaspora.

CFA’s President Melvin Foote who moderated the meeting, was very pleased with the discussion. I think all of us felt that President Jonathan was very comfortable discussing the wide range of topics presented and has a strong vision for what he wants to accomplish now that he is no longer the President of Nigeria.”

Foote further went on to say, “President Jonathan is planning to establish a foundation to address some of the critical issues in Africa, and clearly sees a strong role for the Diaspora in the United States and elsewhere to collaborate in addressing some of the pressing issues in Africa”!