President Muhammadu Buhari and his counterparts from other Gulf of Guinea countries were on Thursday absent as a meeting of Heads of States of member nations opened in Abuja.

Mr. Buhari is being represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, as the fourth summit of the eight -member nation holds at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

The Gulf of Guinea Commission was established by a Treaty signed in Libreville, Gabon, on July 3, 2001 by Angola, Congo, Gabon, Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe.

The treaty constituted a permanent Institutional framework for cooperation amongst the countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea in order to defend their common interest and promote peace and socio-economic development based on dialogue, consensus, ties of friendship, solidarity and fraternity.

Cameroon and Democratic Republic of Congo joined the Gulf of Guinea Commission in 2008.

While Mr. Buhari is represented by Mr. Osinbajo, the president of Gabon, Ali Bongo, is also being represented by his vice, Pierre-Claver Maganga.

The president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Mbasogo, is represented by the country’s Prime Minister Vicente Tomi; President Paul Biya of Cameroon is being represented by the Foreign Affairs Minister of the country, Mbella Mbella; the Democratic Republic of Congo’s president, Joseph Kabila, that of Congo, Dennis Sassous Nguessou and that of Angola, Joao Lourenco were all represented by their ambassadors in Nigeria.