All Posts in "Human Angle"
UK Govt jubilates with Ekiti State on gubanetorial election
The British High Commission has jubilated with Ekiti State and it’s indigenes for the just concluded being the first major election conducted since the enactment of the Electoral Act 2022.
The UK government in a statement released to journalists commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and all other relevant authorities for their efforts in the election
“Our team of observers on the ground noted commendable improvements in the electoral process including the timely opening of polls, better functioning of the Biometric Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) devices for accrediting voters, and the transparent and efficient electronic transmission of polling unit results to INEC’s results viewing portal.
“We are concerned about reports of vote buying during the election and call on the relevant authorities to hold any persons involved accountable. The buying and selling of votes has no place in a democracy.
“As Nigeria moves closer to the 2023 general elections, we encourage people to register and collect their PVCs and to participate actively in the political process. The UK will continue to assist INEC and our partners in their aspiration to support peaceful, credible and inclusive elections in Nigeria.
”We encourage INEC to reflect on other potential improvements to the electoral process ahead of general elections in 2023, especially the re-distribution and assignment of voters to newly established polling units to reduce queuing times, better awareness and implementation of electoral guidelines by INEC staff and improved accessibility at polling units to help with the participation of persons with disabilities.
“We urge any party or individual who is dissatisfied with the process to seek redress in a peaceful manner and through the appropriate legal channels.
ECOWAS Commission says maritime security war in West Africa is almost won – Brou
By Favour Nnabugwu
The President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, Jean-Claude Brou has said the war against maritime insecurity in the West African sub-region was being won.
Brou who said the attestation to this was the removal of Nigeria from the piracy list hotspot, noted that strategies were in place to equally win the war on terrorism
Brou said this while delivering reports of the ECOWAS Commission before the ECOWAS Parliament during the ongoing 2022 First Ordinary Session of the Parliament in Abuja.
He also argued that the victory against maritime insecurity could also be seen with the decreasing rate of attack in the Gulf of Guinea following actions by member countries.
He said, “A year ago, I told you that the maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea was extremely disturbing and globally we were the zone having the largest number of maritime piracy attacks.
“Actions have been carried by the countries individually but also at the level of regional coordination.”
He noted that the situation had reduced slightly to the point that Nigeria has come out of the list of countries having a high level of maritime piracy.
“We will continue to work at regional level with the inauguration of our regional coordination centres for maritime security that has been set up in the various zones,” he said.
He said all together they were working actively particularly in zone F in Cape Verde.
ECOWAS extends launch of single currency, ‘ECO’ to 2027
Nigeria remits $74.7m levy to ECOWAS Commission for 2021
By Favour Nnabugwu
Nigeria’s Delegation of Parliamentarians to the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has paid &74.7million as levy to the ECOWAS Commission.
The Community Levy is 0.5 percent, imposed on goods from non-ECOWAS member states. a mechanism put in place by the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government since 2003 with the intention to mobilize funds necessary for the accomplishment of ECOWAS missions
Presenting the Report on behalf of the Nigerian Delegation, at the ongoing First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament, Honourable Lynda Chuba Ikpeazu in Abuja said the Nigerian Government is preparing to pay the 2022 levy.
“In 2021, Nigeria remitted a total sum of US$74,730,054.43 to the ECOWAS Commission”
“In line with Nigeria’s commitment to fulfilling her financial obligation to ECOWAS, the Federal Government is assiduously making arrangements to pay up the contribution for 2022,” she assured.
Speaking on the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons and Goods, the Nigerian Parliamentarian explained that Nigeria has constantly shown and will always show initiative in the implementation of ECOWAS Texts on the Protocol in Free Movement of Persons and Goods.
“In furtherance of this shared vision of an economically advanced region, the Federal government of Nigeria has reopened four (4) additional land borders of the country to ease regional trade.
“This is shown by her active involvement and support for the Lagos-Abidjan highway, that is projected to bring exponential socio-economic development to countries within the region,”
“Additionally, as a giant in the sub-region, the Nigerian Government continues to maintain her enduring commitment to the development of the region.
ECOWAS Parliament Suspends Sitting In Solidarity With Nigeria for Democracy Day
By Favour Nnabugwu
T,he Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspend its sitting to mark the 32nd Anniversary of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election in Nigeria.
The Fifth Legislature of the 2022 First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament is underway in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city and runs until the 2nd of July, 2022.
However, according to the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Ahmed Idris Wase, the Community Parliament would be observing the public holiday on Monday, 13th June to commemorate the Democracy Day in honour of the late presumed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 election, Moshood Abiola.
Wase, the Deputy Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives disclosed this on Saturday at the ongoing 2022 Parliamentary Session in Abuja.
He expressed the well wishes of the ECOWAS Parliament to the Government and good people of Nigeria as the nation celebrates the historic event.
In view of the foregoing, sitting at the Parliamentary Session resumes on Tuesday, June 14 with the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou expected to make apresentation.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government unveiled activities lined up for the celebration of this year’s Democracy Day (June 12), even as it declared Monday, June 13, a public holiday.
In compliance with the presidential directive, activities lined up for the celebration include a public lecture at the National Mosque, held on Friday, June 10, 2022, by 9:00 a.m. and Jumat prayers on the same date and at the same venue.
This will be followed by a Presidential broadcast on Sunday, June 12, by 7:00 a.m., and a church service at the National Christian Centre at 3:00 p.m.
Monday, June 13, will feature a Ceremonial Parade, which begins at 9:00 a.m., at the Eagle Square, Abuja.
CSOs launch coalition for whistleblowing in ECOWAS-member nations
By Favour Nnabugwu
A number of civil society organisations (CSOs) have formed a coalition to promote whistleblowing within ECOWAS-member nations aimed at combating corruption and achieving transparency and good governance.
The coalition—Whistleblowing Advocacy Coalition of West Africa (WACOWA)—was formed following a meeting organised by the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) and civil society partners.
The consultative meeting was an exploratory discussion with the ECOWAS commission and the Network of Anti-corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA) on improving the fight against corruption in West Africa.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the CSOs said the coalition will complement the ECOWAS commission’s efforts in promoting whistleblowing as an accountability tool in member states.
It will collate reported cases to aid the work of anti-corruption agencies, seek new partners that will participate in the objectives of the advocacy and create solutions that will serve the needs of the communities,” the statement reads.
“Corruption has been one of the major challenges facing West African states since independence, and its pervasiveness in the subregion makes it seem intractable. Among the many damaging impacts of corruption over the decades are mass poverty, high-level unemployment, disregard for law and order, lack of trust in government and rising political instability resulting in the destruction of lives and property.
“Although most ECOWAS member states have passed anti-corruption laws, ratified international conventions against corruption and established special national anti-corruption institutions, a few others have yet to do so. Still, despite these efforts, tackling corruption in the region has not yielded the desired result
The integrity of government and level of corruption are rated more poorly in West and East Africa than in other regions on the continent, as pointed out by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in one of its reports issued in 2005. Even Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) has over the years expressed similar sentiments by indicating that ECOWAS countries have excessively higher levels of corruption than countries in other regions.
“A key feature in the ECOWAS Commission’s protocol to combat corruption in the region is the ECOWAS Whistleblower Protection Strategy.The Commission identifies whistleblowing as one of the most direct methods of exposing corrupt acts which have the capacity to foster transparency and accountability in both the public and private sector administration.
The key objective of this strategy is to encourage member states to pass whistleblowing legislations that are safe for making disclosure of wrongdoing and ensuring protection against retaliation because of such disclosure.”
The CSOs said they will promote whistleblowing as a conscious and required citizen action aimed at decreasing corruption and promoting development in their communities.
Signatories to the statement include African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Civic Media Lab, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Human and Environment Development Agenda (HEDA), MILID Foundation, OrderPaper.ng and Progressive Impact Organisation for Community Development (PRIMORG).
Others are Social Development Integrated Centre (Social Action), Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP)
Tap iNitiative, Transparency International (TI) – Nigeria, and 21st Century Community for Youth Empowerment and Women Initiative
ECOWAS PARLIAMENT concerns about 2023 elections in Nigeria, Liberia, S/Leone
By Favour Nnabugwu
The Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament Y Dr. Sidie Mohamed Tunis has expressed the need of finding the best possible ways of ensuring peaceful electoral process in Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone.in 2023
He made the call in Abuja at the commencement of the First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in 2022.
Hon. Tunis: “May I remind us that next year will be very pivotal for democracy across the region? With elections scheduled to hold in three Member States; the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone, our role in ensuring that the democratic processes are conducted in a way that guarantees the best possible outcomes cannot be overemphasized.
“In coordination with the ECOWAS Commission, we must begin our engagements long before polling day to ensure successes in all three Member States.”
He also said, despite the gains made by the ECOWAS states, terrorism, kidnapping, and banditry continue to cause major setbacks for security in the region. In Burkina Faso, Mali and the Federal Republic of Nigeria the situation has worsened.
“We condemn the recent attack on the Kaduna International Airport and the Abuja-Kaduna train that led to the loss of innocent lives and injuring too many others; the gruesome attack at St. Francis Catholic Church in Ondo State that led to the killing of many, and many others unfortunate deaths across the region,” he lamented
He further stressed the need for regional cooperation and integration which he said is beneficial to the survival of the ECOWAS Community.
To leverage the vast benefits of multilateralism and parliamentary diplomacy, I represented the Parliament at several regional meetings including the Parliamentary Summit on Regional and Provincial Unions of Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean and the 144th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
“These engagements demonstrated our full commitment to Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation and support our determination to bring much-needed visibility to this Parliament.”
On the Supply of vaccines to Africa, especially COVID-19, he said the continent still has a proportionately low number of fully vaccinated individuals against COVID-19. “Challenges ranging from the supply and delivery of vaccines to the shortage of medical staff, vaccine hesitancy and low health systems capacity, impede the Continent’s ability to tackle not only the current health crisis but future ones as well.”
One of the key highlights of this First Ordinary Session was the presentation of the State of the Community report by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, His Excellency, Jean Claude Kassi Brou.
It was done in accordance with Article 32 of the Supplementary Act on the Enhancement of the Powers of Parliament, which stipulates that: “At each ordinary session of the ECOWAS Parliament, the President of the Commission shall present a general report on the state of implementation of the Community’s work program”.
The presentation by the President of the Commission provides an opportunity for Members of Parliament, as representatives of the people, to track and oversight the implementation of community programs.
Also on the agenda of the session are Parliamentary workshops where public, private and the organized Civil Society are expected to share their concerns and challenges, as well as present and explain to regional Members of Parliament, their missions, and achievements.
The ECOWAS Parliament which is a Representative Assembly of the peoples of the Community has a statutory and guaranteed minimum of (5) seats for each of the 15 Member States, while the remaining forty seats are distributed in proportion to the population of each country.
Consequently, Nigeria has 35 of the 115 seats, followed by Ghana with eight seats. Others are Côte d’Ivoire seven Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Senegal with six seats each. The other Member States namely, Benin, Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo have five seats each.
ECOWAS PARLIAMENT set to host 115 members in Abuja come June 9
By Favour Nnabugwu
Arrangements are all concluded to host the 115 members of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS PARLIAMENT in Nigeria.
According to the legislative agenda set on its draft Order Paper, the Session which will open on 9 June 2022, is scheduled to close on 2 July 2022.
This is in line with Article 27 of the Supplementary Act A/SA.1/1/16 relating to the Enhancement of Powers of the ECOWAS Parliament.
During this session, Parliament will deliberate on the draft community regulations emanating from the ECOWAS Commission, examine Community strategies targeted at improving governance, address issues of unconstitutional change of government and proffer solutions towards democratic consolidation in the sub-region
One of the key highlights of this First Ordinary Session is the presentation of the State of the Community report by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, His Excellency, Jean Claude Kassi Brou.
This is in accordance with Article 32 of the Supplementary Act on the Enhancement of the Powers of Parliament, which stipulates that: “At each ordinary session of the ECOWAS Parliament, the President of the Commission shall present a general report on the state of implementation of the Community’s work programme”.
The presentation by the President of the Commission provides an opportunity for Members of Parliament, as representatives of the people, to track and oversight the implementation of community programmes.
This remains an important process within the institutional functioning of ECOWAS.
Meanwhile, an interactive session is also planned with the ECOWAS Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources, on the main initiatives of the departments within its technical competence.
Also on the agenda of the session are Parliamentary workshops where public, private and the organized Civil Society are expected to share their concerns and challenges, as well as present and explain to regional Members of Parliament, their missions, achievements.
The ECOWAS Parliament which is a Representative Assembly of the peoples of the Community has a statutory and guaranteed minimum of (5) seats for each of the 15 Member States, while the remaining forty seats are distributed in proportion to the population of each country.
Consequently, Nigeria has 35 of the 115 seats, followed by Ghana with eight seats. Others are Côte d’Ivoire seven Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Senegal with six seats each. The other Member States namely, Benin, Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo have five seats each.