The President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, on Friday, March 8, 2024, met with Raila Odinga, a Kenyan politician who wants to lead the African Union Commission (AUC).
These leaders met in Rwanda.
The Office of the Head of Village Urugwiro, on the X website, announced that the two leaders discussed various topics, including those related to the East African Region and the interests of the African continent as a whole.
In February this year, 79-year-old Odinga had announced that he would run for the leadership of the AUC.
At that time he expressed that he felt a special power to develop the African continent.
In an interview with the press, he announced that he has already submitted his candidacy, and he said that if he was elected, he would lead well because he was once the special director of the African Union (AU), in charge of environmental development, the work he did from 2018 to 2023.
Among other things, Odonga said that he will deal with it if he is elected to lead the AUC, there is a problem of young Africans who are always eager to go outside of Africa to find work, as a result of the economy of this continent is in a bad state.
Odinga stressed that once he comes to power he will put in place strong measures to build the African economy in a stable way that will always stand in the international arena.
“As a person fighting for the independence of Africa, I think that this continent can be trusted more, we deserve better than what we have. We must find ways to use all the natural resources we have to accelerate the development of our continent,” he said.
So far, Odinga has been approved and supported by various Presidents including William Ruto the President of Kenya, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda, and Olusegun Obasanjo who led Nigeria.
The post of AUC chairman will be up for election next year, when the incumbent, Moussa Faki of Chad, will complete his second term.
The Director of the AUC serves as the Executive Director and legal representative of the AU, overseeing administrative and financial matters, promoting the goals of the AU, and working with the organization’s partners.
Meanwhile, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somalia, Yusuf Adam will also compete with Odinga for the post of AUC leader.
Yusuf told the media in February this year: “I have the talent to lead and serve Africa and I have aspirations to develop it in the journey it is in.”
He added, “Once I am elected to lead the AU, I have the goal of training African countries to unite and strengthen cooperation on this continent.”
