Politics

Nigeria’s Bola Tinubu reelected as ECOWAS chairman

Published

5 months ago

July 7, 2024

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has reelected Bola Tinubu, the president of Nigeria, to the position of chairman at its 65th regular session, which was held in Abuja.

During the 65th ordinary session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, which took place at the presidential palace in Abuja on Tuesday, Tinubu was reelected as the head of the economic bloc.

At the 63rd ordinary session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Bissau, the capital city of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Tinubu was first elected in July 2023. The Nigerian president is the ninth person to hold the position of ECOWAS chairman. Former President Muhammadu Buhari served as both the military’s and the country’s democratic president, leading the bloc in both capacities.

Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo are among the member states of ECOWAS, which was established in 1975.

In the meantime, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger left the ECOWAS in February and established the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a new alliance. Following multiple coups, the three states under military junta control fell out with the West African regional bloc.

This led to sanctions against the junta-led countries, including border closures and the suspension of electricity exports to Niger, as part of efforts to overthrow the coups in those countries. However, the sanctions were removed in February, and the nations left ECOWAS a few days later.

Speaking to the bloc before his reelection as chairman, Tinubu stated that the political resolve of the heads of state in the ECOWAS is necessary to eradicate terrorism from their nations.

“As we move to operationalize the ECOWAS Standby Force (ESF) in combating terrorism, I must emphasize that the success of this plan requires not only strong political will but also substantial financial resources,” Tinubu told the gathering.

“We must, therefore, ensure that we meet the expectations and recommendations set forth by our ministers of defence and finance to counter the insecurity and stabilize our region.

“Member states must make extra commitments to providing resources for stabilizing the region.”

Related Topics:ECOWAS Featured President Bola Tinubu

Click to comment

Politics

Mali: 7 Russian mercenaries killed

Published

7 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

An al Qaeda offshoot in North Africa has claimed responsibility for the attack in central Mali, killing at least seven mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner private military contractor company.

Wagner earlier lost a battle in July with mostly Tuareg rebels and Islamists close to Mali’s Algerian border, exposing the perils faced by mercenaries used by military juntas in the Sahel area of West Africa.

The separatists and strong branches of Al Qaeda and Islamic State, which have taken over large areas of the Sahel over the past 12 years, are difficult for Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger to control.

The al Qaeda offshoot JNIM claimed responsibility for the Thursday attack, according to a statement from SITE Intelligence Group, which keeps an eye on extremist activity in the area. According to SITE, JNIM captured several weapons and killed seven Russian Wagner mercenaries.

Following an attack, the bodies of at least five white males wearing army fatigues were seen laying near a military truck in a video obtained by Reuters. The validity of the footage could not be confirmed by Reuters.

SITE Intelligence posted images allegedly from JNIM that showed many crates of weapons and ammo together with the dead and bloodied bodies of troops.

Although two local officials acknowledged the incident, a Malian army source claimed to have seen seven dead bodies, including Russian fighters. Five Wagner warriors were slain, according to one of them.

At least six Russians have been murdered in the attack, which was carried out by Katiba Macina, a division of JNIM, according to a consultant working on security in the area.

The expert referred to the Russians as Africa Corps warriors, a paramilitary group under Kremlin leadership that has taken Wagner’s position in Africa throughout the previous 12 months.

Mali has previously said that Russian servicemen trainers are assisting local troops with Russian-purchased weaponry rather than mercenaries.

Politics

Mauritius’ Prime Minister to double as Finance Minister

Published

2 days ago

November 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an effort to maintain a tight eye on the economy, Mauritius’ Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, who took office this month following a resounding election victory, said on Friday that he would retain the position of finance minister for himself.

“We are doing an audit of the economy to see to what extent the outgoing government has destroyed it,” Ramgoolam told reporters in the capital Port Louis after he presided over the swearing-in of other ministers.

Ten years after he stepped down as prime minister, the seasoned politician returned to the position when his Alliance du Changement (ADC) alliance won 60 of the 62 seats in the national legislature.

The 77-year-old Ramgoolam said earlier this week that he would be auditing governmental finances. Before this, he was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

Ramgoolam started a campaign in 2006 to streamline taxes and reduce bureaucracy to diversify the $10 billion economy beyond exports of sugar, textiles, and tourism.

Since then, the 1.3 million-person nation, which positions itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, has developed into a major offshore financial hub and has been rated by the World Bank as the easiest location to do business in Africa regularly.