ECOWAS
IFDC, EBID sign pact to boost agriculture in West Africa
The International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) for the improvement of soil health and plant nutrition in West Africa. The agreement will engender multifaceted programmes aimed at promoting growth and development of the agricultural sector in the West Africa sub region. Though West Africa accounts for two per cent of global fertilizer consumption, fertilizer application rates in the region are still low due to logistical challenges, including reliance on imports that may or may not be appropriate for the various soils in the region. IFDC is an independent non-profit organization, operating in 17 countries in Asia and Africa, which combines science-backed innovations, an enabling...
Nigerian government wants children’s parliament established in schools
Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen has called for the establishment of children’s parliament in schools to aide planning and implementation of programmes affecting children. Tallen made the call on Tuesday in Abuja during an interaction with children in commemoration of the 16 days activism to end Gender Based Violence (GBV). She said establishing children’s parliament in schools would provide a platform for students to express their views, help in implementing programmes affecting them and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. “It is my hope that after this event, the school authorities will set up guidelines to establish Children’s Parliament within the schools. “This will provide a platform for harvesting the voices of children in planning and implementing ...
NAPTIP chief decries high rate of out-of-school girls
The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Mrs Julie Okah-Donli, has decried the rate of out-of-school girls in the country. The post NAPTIP chief decries high rate of out-of-school girls appeared first on TODAY. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
President Buhari mourns deceased former Malian leader
President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, commiserated with the government and people of Mali over the death of the country’s former President, Toumani Toure. Buhari’s condolence message was contained in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, titled ‘President Buhari condoles with Mali over passing of former leader, Amadou Toumani Toure’. The statement read, “President Muhammadu Buhari sends heartfelt condolences to government and people of the Republic of Mali over the passing of former President, Amadou Toumani Toure. “The President commiserates with family of the departed Malian leader, whose ten-year reign in the country contributed to the strengthening of political institutions, and measure of stability, starting with his presiding over a peac...
UN lauds Nigeria for implementing programmes on women
The United Nations (UN) has commended the Federal Government on the implementation of its (UN) Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) 1325 programmes on women, peace and security in Nigeria. Ms Comfort Lamptey, UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria, gave the commendation during the launch of activities to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the UNSCR 1325 in Abuja. Lamptey who is also the UN Women Country Representative to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), noted that government had implemented the resolutions of the UNSCR by mainstreaming gender perspective in its programmes. She noted that this had been achieved by promoting women participation, peace keeping mission across Africa and inclusiveness on security issues, particularly in traditional settings. Accordin...
AIB signs MOU with France, Saudi Arabia, recommends prevention measures on airspace safety
The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with France and Saudi Arabia on airspace safety. AIB however said that research and other investigative activities on the agreement could not be implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency is also working in collaboration with the National Transport Safety Board in the U.S. and Singapore as well as Republic of Benin, the ECOWAS Commission and its member states. The AIB Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, Akin Olateru, who made this known while addressing newsmen during the ongoing Regional Enlightenment Symposium in Kano, said the recommendations were made from 2007 till date. Olateru revealed that AIB has so far recommended over 100 standard safety and accident prevention to avert air spa...
ECOWAS likely to decide on lifting Mali sanctions Friday
The West African bloc ECOWAS will likely decide on Friday whether to lift potentially crippling sanctions imposed on Mali after last month’s coup, its mediator said. The mediator, Nigerian former president Goodluck Jonathan, called the 15-nation bloc’s sanctions “unfortunate” during a visit to Mali’s capital Bamako on Wednesday. West African leaders have heaped pressure on the ruling military junta to return power to civilians since the coup toppled president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on August 18. ECOWAS has used the sanctions, which include closing borders and restricting trade, as leverage in negotiations with the junta. Sticking points in those negotiations have included whether civilians or soldiers will run a transition government until fresh elections. The junta asked for the sanctions...
ECOWAS Court set to resume from extended vacation on October 7
The ECOWAS Court will be resuming its activities on Oct. 7, after its three months vacation. This is contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday by the media office of the justices. The court will deliver judgment in nine cases filed against eight some member states. It added that the cases were also filed against Nigeria’s Cross River State and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) and listed in the latest course list released by the Registry of the Court for the period Sept. 25 to Oct. 28. According to the court, among those listed for judgment is a case filed by Counsellor Kabineh Muhammad Ja’neh, a former Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia against the government. “The former Justice is challenging his removal from office on the grounds that i...
UN lauds Africa’s success in virus fight
The United Nations has commended Africa for its exceptional management of the COVID-19 pandemic with record low incidences and deaths. The President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Amb. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, said this yesterday while addressing a virtual press conference, adding that the developing countries have done better than developed countries as regards the management of the pandemic. COVID-19 has spread rapidly and extensively to most countries in the world, resulting in considerable mortality in Europe and the United States, as well as in numerous upper-middle-income countries in South America and Asia. Experts predicted millions of COVID-19 deaths in Africa because many countries in the continent rank poorly on the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Dev...
Manufacturers urges Nigerian government to review levies on imported electricity meters
The Electricity Meter Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (EMMAN) has appealed to the Federal Government to review its levies on imported electricity meters to promote full local content in the production of pre-paid meters. The appeal is coming on the heels of President Muhamadu Buhari’s approval of one year deferment of the 35 percent import adjustment tax (levy) imposed on fully built unit (FBU) electricity meters HS Code 9028.30.00.00 under the 2019 fiscal policy measures for the implementation of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) common external tariff (CET) 2017 – 2022. EMMAN believes the approval is an incentive for mass importation of pre-paid meters as against upscaling of local production. It noted that it takes an average of three months to set up Semi Knock Do...
Presidential elections in Ghana, others top agenda at ECOWAS meeting
The 44th Ordinary Meeting of the Mediation and Security Council of the Economic Community of West African States has called attention to the ongoing insurgency in Nigeria, Gambia and Guinea Bissau as well as the political crisis in Mali. The Council at its meeting in Niamey, Niger, on Friday, also focused on forthcoming presidential elections in Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Niger. The meeting was presided over by the Nigerien Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chair of the Mediation and Security Council, Kalla Ankourao. Ankourao recalled the challenges COVID-19 has brought upon the region coupled with the breakdown in democratic governance in Mali. He urged the ECOWAS body to take the necessary steps for the preparation and smooth conduct of the upcoming presidential electi...
Mali: Military opens talks on transition to civilian rule
Mali’s military junta will hold meetings on Saturday to discuss its promised transition to civilian rule after mounting pressure from neighbours to yield power in the weeks since it overthrew the nation’s leader. The West African country has long been plagued by chronic instability, a simmering jihadist revolt, ethnic violence and endemic corruption, prompting a clique of rebel colonels to detain elderly President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita last month. They pledged to step down after an undefined transition period, but the putsch has prompted Mali’s neighbours and former colonial ruler France to demand a swift transfer of power, with fears the crisis could impact neighbouring states. The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc has imposed sanctions and closed...
