Politics

Nigeria’s legislature begins periodic policy brief series

Published

3 months ago

February 6, 2024

The second tier of Nigeria’s legislature, the House of Representatives, announced on Tuesday that it had begun the second edition of its sectoral debates and dialogues as part of its periodic policy brief series.

This was revealed in a statement released by House spokesperson Akin Rotimi on Monday evening, stressing that the programme has been “billed for the financial sector and is scheduled to feature key stakeholders in the sector such as the Minister of Finance, Minister of Budget and Planning, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue.”

Yahaya Danzaria, the Clerk of the House, in a letter headed “Notice of Sectoral Debates with Financial Sector Stakeholders” also confirmed the development.

The goals of the Debates Series also include “promotion of smooth legislative-executive relationships for good governance” and “strengthening of legislative oversight of key Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of Government.”

The Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abass had stated that the House was extremely concerned about the situation of the economy upon the reopening of plenary for the year, emphasising that the nation was facing several obstacles that were preventing our growth trajectory.

“I am pleased to announce that House sectoral briefs with MDAs will resume immediately. Accordingly, we shall engage with MDAs and principal actors in the finance sector on Tuesday, 6th February, 2024. This engagement will assess the nation’s readiness to mobilise the necessary financial resources for implementing the budget,” the Speaker said.

The current set of legislatures, the 10th Assembly, has been in the spotlight for its “romance” with the federal executive, and many have wondered if it has a stand to perform its constitutional duties of effectively checking other arms of government. The sectoral briefs would seem like the right step, but it is yet to be seen what comes out of the probes given the history of many similar actions without evident consequences.

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Politics

Burkina Faso investigating reports of northern killings

Published

10 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A government spokesman has revealed that Burkina Faso is looking into reports that 223 people were killed by the Burkinabe army in two villages in the north in February.

The killing was first reported by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), causing a rift between the junta-led West African state and some foreign media that published the report. The HRW report released on Thursday said that the military had executed residents of Nodin and Soro, including at least 56 children, as part of a campaign against civilians suspected of working with jihadist terrorists. The report was based on interviews with witnesses, members of civil society, and other groups.

Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo, a spokesman for the government, said that HRW’s claims were “peremptory” and that the junta was not unwilling to look into the claimed crimes.

“An investigation has been launched into the killings in Nodin and Soro,” Ouedraogo said in a late-evening statement, quoting a statement from a regional prosecutor on March 1.

Since Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger’s militaries took over in a series of coups from 2020 to 2023, violence in the area has gotten worse. This is because of the ten-year fight with Islamist groups related to Al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Attacks on Burkina Faso got much worse in 2023, with more than 8,000 people killed, according to the U.S.-based crisis-monitoring group ACLED.

Politics

S’Africa lengthens troop deployment in Mozambique, Congo DR

Published

3 days ago

April 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a speech that South Africa’s military would keep sending troops to Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which are both in the middle of wars.

The extension will leave 1,198 members of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) in eastern Congo for an unknown amount of time. They are there as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force helping Congo fight rebel groups.

The statement also said that 1,495 members of the SANDF would keep working in Mozambique, where they have been since 2021 helping the government fight dangerous extremism in the north.

After two SANDF troops were killed and three were hurt by a mortar bomb in Congo in February, South Africa’s military operations abroad have been looked at more closely at home this year.

Meanwhile, the major opposition party in South Africa, the Democratic Alliance, said that Ramaphosa sent troops into a war zone without being ready.
Under the supervision of the UN, the SANDF has taken on many dangerous and difficult peacekeeping tasks over the years to help war-torn African countries stay stable and peaceful.

In 2003, South Africa was one of the first countries to send troops to Burundi to help the peace process. During the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) peacekeeping mission in 2000, the SANDF led attempts to stabilize the country’s politics, rebuild and improve infrastructure, and train DRC troops.