Ambode to host Macron at Afrika Shrine

Akinwunmi Ambode

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode will on Tuesday, July 3 play host to President Emmanuel Macron of France at the Afrika Shrine in Agidingbi, Ikeja.

Macron will arrive Abuja where he will meet with President Muhammadu Buhari and members of the National Assembly.

He will visit the Shrine for an event organised by French television network, Trace TV.

Expected to perform on the night are Femi Kuti, Banky W and Yemi Alade.

Governor Ambode will use the occasion to promote Lagos as a tourist destination and seek to deepen the relationship between the state and France.

Qed.ng recalls that Lagos had a pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017 and 2018 in the absence of a Federal Government delegation.

Kunle Afolayan, who was one of those who unveiled the Olumide Iyanda-edited Cinema in Lagos magazine at Cannes, will introduce Nollywood to the visiting President Macron in Lagos.

The highpoint of Macron’s visit is the opening of the Alliance Française building in Ikoyi, Lagos.

French Ambassador of France to Nigeria, Denys Gauer, disclosed in a meeting with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, in February that Macron has interest in Nigeria and would like to talk on several issues relating to the development of the country.

Mr Gauer recalled that Macron once worked at the French Embassy in Abuja, spending six months before his redeployment.

The ambassador disclosed that youth development and cultural exchanges between Nigeria and France would be on the agenda during the visit.