Echotitbits – Nigeria News

Category: Africa

  • Sanwo-Olu Congratulates Hamzat at 56

    Sanwo-Olu Congratulates Hamzat at 56

    Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has celebrated his Deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, who clocked 56 on Saturday, describing him as a reliable, trust worthy and committed brother, friend and partner in the Greater Lagos Agenda of the incumbent administration.

    Sanwo-Olu also lauded Hamzat’s contribution to the growth and development of Lagos State in the last 17 years, saying he has all along used his position as commissioner in different ministries and now the number two citizen of the Centre of Excellence to bring about positive change to the state and the country at large.

    “Happy 56th birthday to my reliable, hardworking, dependable, supportive and committed brother, friend and partner in the Greater Lagos Agenda of our administration.

    “You made great achievements as Commissioner for Science and Technology between 2005 and 2011 as well as Commissioner of Works and Infrastructure.

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    “During your tenure as Commissioner for Science and Technology, you enforced the application of modern technology in the state’s ministries, thus changing the face of data and record keeping in Lagos and at the same time eliminating the trend of state ghost workers.

    “In execution of your mandate as Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, your ministry completed several key projects for Lagos State in the mega-city era. Your achievements in the ministry were well recognised as you emerged winner of the fifth edition of the Lagos State Man of the Year Awards in September 2013.

    “We cherish your contributions to party politics and governance in our dear state. You are a worthy ambassador and champion in the blend of technocracy and politics. As a true democrat and progressive politician, you have remained steadfast in the progressive camp.

    “As you celebrate your 56th birthday, I pray that God will increase you in good health to enable you render more service to humanity, Lagos State and Nigeria,” Sanwo-Olu said.

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    Meanwhile, in the spirit of social distancing and in line with the novel Coronavirus COVID-19 safety protocols, the deputy governor has said he would mark his birthday anniversary with his family, adding that he would still perform his official duty.

    He thanked God for His mercy and promised to re-dedicate himself to the service of humanity.

    He said: “To Almighty Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

    “Another September 19th has come to remind me to always count my blessings, to not take anything for granted. To work like no one is watching, to serve selflessly, to be giving of myself, to impact the lives of the people I have chosen to serve, to leave my footprints in the sands of time, to be humble yet firm, and to work hand in hand with my conscience at all times.

    “I am grateful for the grace and favour bestowed upon me by Almighty Allah.

    Update: Sanwo-Olu, Amaechi visit scene where train kills 2

    “To my family for their love and support, and to everyone for their belief in the Sanwoolu/Hamzat administration. I say Thank You.

    “In the spirit of social distancing and in line with the COVID-19 safety measures, I would spend my birthday with my family, and working.

    “Thank you all once again, and God bless.”

    Idowu Sowunmi

  • Mali Buries Ex-Dictator Moussa Traore Who Ruled for 22 Years

    Mali Buries Ex-Dictator Moussa Traore Who Ruled for 22 Years

    A former dictator, Moussa Traore, who ruled Mali for 22 years and deposed in a 1991 coup, has been laid to rest during a state funeral held in his honour on Friday.

    The former autocratic leader died at age 83 in Bamako, the Malian capital on September 15.

    According to AFP journalists, Traore was buried at a Bamako military camp, where a funeral band played at the arrival of his coffin, which was draped in the Malian flag.

    Soldiers dressed in full regalia stood at attention, while two planes performed a flypast overhead.

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    Traore’s funeral ceremony on Friday was attended by the head of the ruling military junta, Colonel Assimi Goita, part of a group of young officers who launched a coup ousting president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on August 18.

    Former President Amadou Toumani Toure, the man who deposed Traore in the 1991 coup, was also in attendance alongside and other former leaders of the Sahel state.

    While Russian diplomats attended the ceremony, no French or European Union representatives were present, AFP journalists reported.

    Traore, a young lieutenant in 1968, was the main instigator of a coup that ousted Modibo Keita, the country’s first president after independence from France in 1960.

    READ ALSO:

    ECOWAS: President Buhari Pledges Nigeria’s Support for Consolidation of Democracy

    The then young officer became president a year after the coup and ruled with an iron fist, before he was eventually overthrown in a military coup in 1991.

    In recent years, the ex-dictator was increasingly seen as an elder statesman in the notoriously unstable country, with politicians soliciting his advice.

  • ECOWAS: President Buhari Pledges Nigeria’s Support for Consolidation of Democracy

    ECOWAS: President Buhari Pledges Nigeria’s Support for Consolidation of Democracy

    Nigeria has pledged to within the limits of resources support the consolidation of democracy in West African countries.

    President of the most populous black nation in the world, Muhammadu Buhari made the pledge on Thursday when he received the President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, who was on a one-day official visit to Nigeria.

    READ ALSO:

    If Only

    President Buhari at the meeting reiterated Nigeria’s support for Burkina Faso scheduled to hold elections in November this year.

    “We are keeping tabs on situations in countries that have elections ahead. We know the countries that are calm and the ones where there have been unfortunate casualties. We will always support those who have elections ahead, so that things can go smoothly,” President Buhari said.

    Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari receives President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, at theState House Abuja on Thursday, September 17, 2020.

    President Kabore, who chairs the Economic, Trade and Liberalization Scheme of ECOWAS, said he was in Nigeria to discuss with President Buhari crucial sub-regional issues that include the convening of a joint commission meeting between Nigeria and Burkina Faso, reported trade difficulties among Nigeria, Ghana, Republic of Benin, and Niger Republic, and the way forward.

    President Kabore commended President Buhari for what he called “strong leadership and support” displayed by the Nigerian leader in his capacity as Chairman of COVID-19 response in West Africa.

    READ ALSO:

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    “I must also applaud your strong leadership against terrorism in the sub-region,” the Burkinabe Leader said.

    On the situation in Mali, he expressed hope that the summit held in Accra, Ghana, on Tuesday, would yield positive results, stressing: “We need cohesion all over West Africa.”

    Photos:

     

    Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari receives President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, at theState House Abuja on Thursday, September 17, 2020.
  • Climate Financing in Africa: Experts Advocate Smarter Collaboration Among Funders

    Climate Financing in Africa: Experts Advocate Smarter Collaboration Among Funders

    Experts at the 2020 Global Philanthropy Forum have called for greater collaboration among funders to address the severe threat that climate change poses to Africa’s development.

    The experts, who at a virtual session oranised by the African Development Bank, highlighted the critical role of innovative approaches towards mobilising climate adaptation finance in Africa.

    The session, which was titled: “Inclusive Green Economies – Harnessing Opportunities and Innovative Solutions for Investments in Climate-Resilient Development in Africa,” began with a call for sustainable ways for the continent to emerge stronger from the pandemic.

    The event was moderated by the Senior Associate at the Global Climate Adaptation Partnership, Emily Ojoo-Massawa.

    Speaking at the event, the Manager of Climate and Green Growth at the African Development Bank, Al Hamndou Dorsouma, said: “The path to a sustainable COVID-19 recovery will therefore require investments that simultaneously tackle the pandemic and prevailing climate risks while offering attractive co-benefits.”

    Africa is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions, and the economic cost is high: as much as $15 billion in 2020, rising to potentially $50 billion by 2040, which is equivalent to 7% of the continent’s GDP.

    Al Hamdou Doursouma noted that The the bank is on track to mobilise $25 billion between 2020 and 2025 to support investments in climate change.

    In his remarks, the Senior Adaptation and Resilience Specialist, Climate Change Group at the World Bank, Arame Tall, called for the involvement of ministries of finance in outlining adaptation investment opportunities in different countries.

    “The moment for adaptation has come. Interestingly, we have the attention of philanthropy, private sector and non-traditional investors, who want to invest in harnessing new opportunities in climate change adaptation.

    “We need the ministries of finance to be involved in outlining adaptation investment opportunities in countries to better harness these opportunities, including clear investment and sectoral plans,” Tall explained.

    With less than two per cent of philanthropic funding going to combat climate change, funders face a challenge.

    Thus, the experts advocated for more collaboration in smarter ways in order to meet ambitious targets and rally support from all sectors, drawing attention to the unprecedented challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Collaboration is important to lay a solid foundation to achieve a greener post-COVID future,” said the African Development Bank’s Director for Agricultural Finance and Rural Infrastructure Development, Atsuko Toda.

    She called for a paradigm shift in adaptation financing, noting the bank’s willingness to work with partners to accelerate Africa’s adaptation.

    In October 2018, the bank’s Board of Directors approved a framework for the implementation of the Africa Disaster Risk Financing (ADRiFi) Programme, which offers regional member countries an opportunity to pool and transfer their climate-related risks by paying a sovereign insurance premium.

    “The payout is made immediately after a disaster happens.

    “The bank partners with the African Risk Capacity Insurance Company (ARC) to implement ADRiFi.

    “The COVID-19 crisis has underscored the urgency of building healthier, more inclusive and more resilient economies, the meeting heard,” Toda said.

    Chief Executive Officer of ARC, Lesley Ndlovu, noted the need for countries to plan for exposures and build resilience.

    “At the African Risk Capacity, we work with countries to prepare them for the risk exposure they have and help them prepare for how to respond, including helping them to establish a rainy-day fund. We have also partnered with the African Development Bank for the Africa Disaster Risk Financing initiative and other financing instruments.

    “We need broader collaborations to solve the problem that our continent faces. The problem is so big that all of us have a role to play,” Ndlovu said.

    In 2019, the African Development Bank prioritised adaptation finance, with 55 per cent of its climate-focused financing invested in adaptation actions.

    The bank’s adaptation finance rose from $500 million in 2012 to $2 billion in 2019, cumulatively representing $18.6 billion over this period.

    Idowu Sowunmi

  • US Export-Import Bank Constitutes Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee

    US Export-Import Bank Constitutes Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee

    The US Export-Import Bank has reaffirmed its commitment to the growth of the US-African cooperation by constituting Sub-Saharan Advisory Committee for 2020 and 2021.

    The committee is composed of pro-investment and pro-business advisors who understand Africa and would be instrumental in growing the US-African cooperation and flows of goods, services and technology.

    The Sub-Saharan Advisory Committee is chaired by the Senior Vice President and Director of the Programme on Prosperity and Development at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Daniel Runde.

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    Other members of the committee include: Chief Executive Officer, Energy and Natural Resource Security, Inc., Derek Campbell; Senior Vice President, African Affairs and President, US-Africa Business Centre, US Chamber of Commerce, Scott Eisner; Founder and Chief Executive Officer, AppsTech, Rebecca Enonchong; Executive Director/Americas Export Finance Head, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Lori Helmers; President and Chief Executive Officer, Corporate Council on Africa, Florizelle Liser, Chairman, AfricaGlobal Schaffer,
    Mima Nedelcovych; Principal, The OKPA Co., EE Okpa; Director Customer and Industry Relations, Progress Rail, a Caterpillar Company, Marise Duff Stewart; President – International Business, Acrow Bridge, Paul Sullivan; and Chief Executive Officer, United Bank for Africa (UBA), America, Sola Yomi-Ajayi.

    By working to provide funding for trade and development deals in Africa for American companies, the US EXIM Bank could become an increasingly important source of financing for Africa’s critical energy infrastructure.

    US companies have important products, experience and expertise in several key segments of the energy value chain that would be extremely beneficial if properly matched with opportunities on the continent.

    This is especially relevant to the natural gas value-chain which has become a key priority for most African governments, and for which American technology and services could help transform the continent’s energy industry.

    Equally important is the focus given to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the committee.

    The African Energy Chamber’s own US-Africa Committee has identified the collaboration between US and African SMEs as a major requirement to grow investment and technology transfers between the US and Africa.

    Commenting on the latest appointments, a prominent member of the Africa Energy Chamber’s US-Africa Committee, Jude Kearney, said: “The African Energy Chamber notes and welcomes the recent appointment of the US Exim Bank’s Sub-Saharan Advisory Committee.

    “The renewed interest and appetite for investing in Africa shown by Exim Bank and other US trade agencies is welcome in Africa, and the continent’s energy sector is listening and open to doing business and making the kind of deals that will propel the continent towards a prosperous future.”

    “The African Energy Chamber looks forward to supporting further US involvement in Africa and to developing new ways of working together and pushing for a pro-African investment agenda in the US public and private sectors,” said Kearney, who’s also the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Service Industries and Finance at the US Department of Commerce during the Clinton Administration and currently President of Kearney Africa Advisors.

    On his part, Director of Strategy at the Africa Energy Chamber, Mickael Vogel, said: “We are very proud to see Rebecca Enonchong on this board. She more than anyone understands the challenges of small businesses and has personally built and mentored many such businesses.

    African Energy Chamber’s Committee Harps on Local Content as a Panacea Towards Africa’s Economic Recovery

    “With her you know you have someone who will work towards making America a good partner of the African business community and ensuring that civil society is not left behind. She is an inspiration for so many women in business.”

    “We are grateful that our own C. Derek Campbell will add value to this work.

    “Derek has a proven track-record on issues that concern trade with Africa and also on Energy Security.

    “Advancing and protecting Africa’s energy sector, empowering Africans and openings doors for so many that he has never met has been the work of his life,” noted the Executive Chairman at the African Energy Chamber, NJ Ayuk.

    The increased attention given to SMEs on both sides of the Atlantic is extremely encouraging for the future of US-African cooperation and its ability to create jobs and value for both regions.

    Idowu Sowunmi

  • Mali: Military-Appointed Experts Propose 2-Year Transition With President Chosen By Junta

    Mali: Military-Appointed Experts Propose 2-Year Transition With President Chosen By Junta

    A two-year transitional government led by a president chosen by the army has been proposed by Experts appointed by Mali’s military junta on Friday.

    AFP reported that the proposed deal was contained in a document that has been submitted to hundreds of participants at a three-day forum in Bamako aimed at mapping a way forward for the troubled country.

    The transitional government proposal stated that the president would be a “civil or military personality”.

    READ ALSO:

    ECOWAS gives Mali junta 7day ultimatum to name civilian transitional president

    The ongoing dialogue, which is in its second is between the young officers who overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on August 18 and civilian representatives, many of whom had taken to the streets to demand for the resignation of the ousted president.

    Hours after the August coup, the coup leaders pledged to restore civilian government and stage elections within a “reasonable time”.

    However, a major concern for participants at the ongoing forum is how long a transition government should last and what role the army should play. These issues have now divided the discussants at the ongoing talks expected to conclude on Sunday.

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    While the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has insisted that the junta hand over power within 12 months, an influential imam viewed as the figurehead of the June 5 Movement which waged a protest campaign against Keita Mahmoud Dicko, has also backed a swift return to civilian rule.

  • Make Global Trade System Fairer and More Transparent, Africa’s Chief Executive Officers Demand

    Make Global Trade System Fairer and More Transparent, Africa’s Chief Executive Officers Demand

    Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in African private sector have expressed optimism about the future of the continent.

    In a survey, which was commissioned by the Pan-African Private Sector Trade and Investment Committee (PAFTRAC), and conducted by African Business magazine in partnership with the Afreximbank, to gauge the private sector view around trade, the research highlighted the private sector’s desire for considerable reforms to make the global trade rules system fairer and more transparent.

    Two hundred CEOs were surveyed around issues concerning the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and trade in general.

    It was done in light of the next phase of ongoing consultations to select the institution’s next Director General. Three of the eight candidates are African: Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Kenya’s Amina Mohamed and Egypt’s Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh.

    The CEOs were also optimistic about the future outlook: over 50 per cent of the CEOs believed global trade would increase over the next 12 months; and over 70 per cent of CEOs believe intra-africa trade would increase over the next 12 months.

    The survey covered a number of areas which revealed a general consensus that the current rules penalise the African continent and its private sector.

    86.6 per cent of the respondents understand the role of WTO in global trade. However, majority of the CEOs believed WTO is not effective in fulfilling its role.

    As much as infrastructure, logistics and human capital were cited as two major constraints to growth in Africa, the CEOs also noted the skewed international trade regime as another key constraint.

    President of Afreximbank, Benedict Oramah, said: “As the pan-African trade finance bank, Afreximbank has been mandated to host PAFTRAC secretariat. Any reform needs to support a burgeoning African private sector and an increasingly integrated Africa.

    “We have seen, over the past quarter of a century since WTO was formed, the emergence of a robust and dynamic African private sector, and more recently significant steps to integrate Africa under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

    “WTO and its new leadership will need to recognise the imperative of African integration and put development at the centre of any trade agenda.”

    Interestingly, if the majority of CEOs believed that the global trading system was unfair, most also see the multilateral system strengthening in the coming years.

    They outlined a set of reforms that should be undertaken for a fairer and more transparent trading system, including in the areas of voice and participation, tariffs and non-tariff barriers, agriculture and subsidies.

    Speaking on the matter, PAFTRAC Chair, Pat Utomi, stated that unless reform was forthcoming the current global crisis may penalise the African private sector even further.

    “We have seen during this pandemic companies in the industrialised world have received massive bailouts, tax incentives, not to mention government contracts and fiscal stimuli.

    “Companies in Africa were not so fortunate and will have to deal with a world where trade will be depressed because of the post-covid environment. As such, a fairer global trade environment and trading system is more urgent today than ever,” he said.

    The survey as well as a debate around a communiqué to be sent to all candidates who are in the race for the directorship of WTO would be presented at a webinar to be hosted by Afreximbank.

    PAFTRAC unites African leaders from the private sector and provides a unique advocacy platform bringing together the African private sector and African policymakers to support extra and intra-African trade, investment and pan-African enterprise.

    The platform drives pan-African results by providing a framework for private sector engagement in trade and investment issues in Africa, including policy formulation and trade negotiations to support African economies in line with the ambitions of Agenda 2063: “The Africa We Want.”

    PAFTRAC enhances advocacy and supports policy actions and recommendations of the private sector on trade; and investment issues at the national, trade corridor, regional and multilateral levels.

    Idowu Sowunmi

  • African Development Bank Approves $27.33m to Ramp Up AU’s COVID-19 Response

    African Development Bank Approves $27.33m to Ramp Up AU’s COVID-19 Response

    In order to complement various national and sub-regional operations, African Development Bank’s Board of Directors Wednesday approved $27.33 million in grants to boost the efforts of the African Union (AU) to mobilise a continental response to curb the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

    The approval followed a meeting of the extended Bureau of the Conference of Heads of State and Government with Africa’s private sector on April 22 was chaired by President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and AU chairperson.

    READ ALSO: Adesina Assures of Stronger Africa as He’s Sworn-in for 2nd Term as AfDB President

    The bank’s President, Akinwumi Adesina, had pledged strong support for AU’s COVID-19 initiative.

    President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina

    Speaking after the board’s approval, Adesina said: “With this financing package, we are reaffirming our strong commitment to a coordinated African response in the face of COVID-19.

    “Most importantly, we are sending a strong signal that collectively, the continent can address the pandemic, which is straining health systems and causing unprecedented socio-economic impacts on the continent.”

    Also speaking on the approval, the bank’s Acting Vice President, Agriculture, Human and Social Development, Wambui Gichuri, said: “Our response today and support to the African Union is timely and will play a crucial role in helping Africa look inward for solutions to build resilience to this pandemic and future outbreaks.”

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    AU Bureau meeting had called for contributions to the African Union’s COVID-19 Response Fund established by the AU Commission chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, in March 2020.

    The bank’s grant financing would support the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in providing technical assistance and building capacity for 37 African Development Fund (ADF) eligible countries, particularly the Transition States, to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate its impact.

    ADF is the bank’s concessional window.

    Sourced from ADF’s Regional Operations/Regional Public Goods envelope and the Transition Support Facility, these two grants would support the implementation of Africa CDC’s COVID-19 Pandemic Preparedness and Response Plan through strengthening surveillance at various points of entry (air, sea, and land) in African countries; building sub-regional and national capacity for epidemiological surveillance; and ensuring the availability of testing materials and personal protective equipment for frontline workers deployed in hotspots.

    The operation would also facilitate collection of gender-disaggregated data and adequate staffing for Africa CDC’s emergency operations centre.

    At the beginning of February 2020, only two reference laboratories – in Senegal and in South Africa – could run tests for COVID-19 on the continent.

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    Africa CDC, working with governments, the World Health Organisation (WHO), and several development partners and public health institutes, have increased this capacity to 44 countries currently.

    Despite this progress, Africa’s testing capacity remains low, with the 37 ADF-eligible countries accounting for only 40 per cent of completed COVID-19 tests to date.

    Idowu Sowunmi

  • ECOWAS gives Mali junta 7day ultimatum to name civilian transitional president

    ECOWAS gives Mali junta 7day ultimatum to name civilian transitional president

    By News Agency

    ECOWAS leaders who met in Niamey, Niger on Monday have given the military junta in Mali until Sept. 15 to name a transitional president and a prime minister, according to a statement read at the end of a summit on Monday.

    The 15-nation bloc said the president and prime minister, who will lead the transitional government, should be civilians.

    The meeting maintained the sanctions it imposed on Mali in the aftermath of the coup.

    But it also welcomed steps taken by the junta in the past week to start talks with Mali’s political parties and civil society groups over the transition.

    ECOWAS closed its borders with landlocked Mali and halted financial flows amid concerns that the military coup could undermine the democratic gains in the region.

    A group of army colonels has ruled Mali since ousting President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on Aug. 18.

    No consensus has yet been reached on the make-up and duration of a transitional government ahead of promised elections.

    ECOWAS is calling for a swift return to civilian rule and a vote within a year, a timeline the junta, the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), has not committed to.

    ECOWAS Commission President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, said both the president and prime minister must be appointed by Sept. 15 at the latest.

    Talks in the capital Bamako about the transition period got off to a bumpy start on Saturday, when supporters of the influential M5-RFP political coalition accused the junta of sidelining them.

    The junta’s negotiations, which are also being held in regional capitals across Mali, will continue later this week.

  • Gbajabiamila’s Legislative Diplomacy to Accra, Akufo-Addo Endorses Nigeria-Ghana Business Council to Resolve Trade & Investment Disputes

    Gbajabiamila’s Legislative Diplomacy to Accra, Akufo-Addo Endorses Nigeria-Ghana Business Council to Resolve Trade & Investment Disputes

    President Nana Akufo Ado of Ghana has endorsed a proposal for the establishment of a Nigeria-Ghana Business Council to be established by law in both countries.

    The Ghanaian leader has also suggested the setting up of a joint ministerial committee between the two countries that would “shepherd” issues between Ghana and Nigeria.

    Speaking at a meeting with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, who was in Accra for a two-day extensive dialogue towards resolving some of the challenges confronting Nigerians doing business in Ghana, Akufo-Addo said a request by the speaker for a review of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act to make certain concessions was in order as it “makes a lot of sense”.

    Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila & his Ghanaian counterpart, Rt. Hon. Prof. Mike Oquaye, PhD co-chairing a Bilateral Committee Meeting aimed at resolving issues between the two countries at the Ghanaian Parliament House in Accra on Wednesday 09/ 02/ 2020.

    The President promised to also raise the issue with President Muhammadu Buhari when they meet at the ECOWAS Summit on Monday.

    He assured Gbajabiamila of the readiness of the Ghanaian government to consider the resolutions reached at the ‘Legislative Diplomacy Bilateral Meeting’ between Nigeria and Ghana’s senior legislators on September 2 at the Ghanaian Parliament House.

    Speaker of Ghana’s parliament, Mike Oquaye, led his Nigerian counterpart on a courtesy visit to the President at the Jubilee House in Accra on Thursday.

    The legislative diplomacy dialogue became imperative as the parliaments of the two countries sought modalities to resolve challenges and provide an enabling business environment for foreign traders including Nigerians doing business in Ghana.

    Several foreign businesses, many Nigerian-owned, in Ghana have been facing challenges in the demand for $1m capital base for foreign traders, as enshrined in the Ghana Investment Promotion Center GIPC Act (2013).

    “I think the way forward, which is really what matters in situations like this, that is being suggested, one that I find very acceptable, the idea of legislation, a Nigeria-Ghana Business Council that will superintend trade matters and investment matters between our two countries, maybe long overdue.

    Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila & his Ghanaian counterpart, Rt. Hon. Prof. Mike Oquaye, PhD co-chairing a Bilateral Committee Meeting aimed at resolving issues between the two countries at the Ghanaian Parliament House in Accra on Wednesday 09/ 02/ 2020.

    “The time has come for us to take these worthwhile steps. I suggested to Mr. President that it will be a good idea to set up a joint ministerial committee of ministers from both sides who will be responsible for shepherding Ghana and Nigeria issues, reporting to both presidents at any one time, and that is how they should be resolved.

    “I am hoping when I see him on Monday at the ECOWAS Summit, we can advance these discussions and come to a final conclusion.

    “The way you yourselves have come about this matter is very satisfactory, and it requires our support. The review that you are asking for, why not? if it works in our mutual perspectives, we can take it for granted that your request will be taken seriously. We will have a look at it.

    “So, the request for the review makes a lot of sense,” Akufo-Addo said.

    Earlier, Gbajabiamila, who was in the company of some of his colleagues in Nigeria’s House of Representatives, which included the Chairmen of House Committees on Foreign Affairs, Media and Public Affairs, deputy chairmen of committee on Diaspora, Federal road safety and a member of the ECOWAS Parliament, told the Ghanaian President that they were in Ghana to “make efforts through parliamentary diplomacy to resolve the issues at stake.”

    According to him, “We have appealed to the (Ghanaian) Parliament that if it’s possible at all to look again at the issues, as far as the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act is concerned, they should please do so.

    “If it is not possible, then let us look at ways the pain can be reduced, like those expectations required in the law.

    “We’ve proffered a few suggestions one of which is the establishment of Ghana-Nigeria Business Council backed by legislation on both sides,” Gbajabiamila said.

    Meanwhile, in a communique issued jointly at the end of the bilateral meeting between members of the two parliaments led by their respective Speakers, Gbajabiamila and Oquaye, it was resolved that “measures will be adopted to support law-abiding traders to properly regularise their business operations to alleviate the trade challenges occasioned by the alleged closure of the retail stores, in view of the ravaging impact of COVID-19 pandemic on businesses and families in both countries.”

    They acknowledged that many stakeholders in the retail sector have limited appreciation of the trade laws of Ghana, in particular, Section 28 of the GIPC Act, which provides for the conditions under which non-Ghanaians could engage in trading activities.

    They urged the relevant regulatory authorities including the GIPC and Trade Attaches of foreign missions to educate their citizens on the trade laws.

    They equally emphasised the need to respect the sovereignty of member states of ECOWAS and their laws, but, in doing so, efforts must be made to ensure that the ECOWAS Agenda for free movement of people and goods in furtherance of a shared and prosperous future of citizens of the sub-region is not compromised.

    “A meeting will be held between the Trade and Foreign Affairs Committees of both Legislatures to deliberate on applications of Trade Laws, in particular, the GIPC Act, 2013 (Act 865) and make recommendations for appropriate solutions; and

    “A Joint Committee will be established and composed of Members of both Legislatures to explore the possible passage of reciprocal legislation, which could be potentially called the “Ghana-Nigeria Friendship Act” which shall propose “Ghana-Nigeria Business Council” to provide a framework to sustain the friendship and benefits to citizens of the two nations.”

    Departing Ghana on Thursday, Gbajabiamila expressed his gratitude to his counterpart for his statesmanship, leadership and hospitality, which made it possible for both countries to resolve thorny issues through legislative diplomacy.

    Idowu Sowunmi