The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ECOWAS

  • Maritime security: Africa, U.S, UK naval chiefs meet in Calabar

    Naval chiefs from Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom converged on Calabar on Monday to strategise on ways to ensure a safe and secure maritime environment in the Gulf of Guinea.

    The News agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting, expected to end on Wednesday, had no fewer than 14 African naval chiefs in attendance at the Tinapa Lakeside Hotel.

    In his opening remarks, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Dele Ezeoba, said the meeting was called because of challenges and threats to the economic interests of states in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG).

    He said GoG strategic location informed the decision to collaborate on the security of the region and the convocation of the first Regional Maritime Awareness Capability Conference (RMACC) in Calabar.

    Ezeoba said the GoG had become a source of concern to the region and the international community given its myriad of security challenges.

    He said the threats on regional security included piracy, sea robbery, drug and human trafficking, pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft.

    Ezeoba also listed illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, proliferation of small arms and light weapons and environmental degradation as sources of threats in the GoG.

    “Regrettably, these threats constitute serious challenges and adversely impact on the collective maritime governance imperatives and economic wellbeing of nation states in the GoG.

    “It is, therefore, imperative to emphasise that no meaningful development can take place in an atmosphere of insecurity within the global commons.

    “As discomforting as these threats would appear, they are not insurmountable hence the clarion call for the enthronement of constructive, proactive, sustainable and holistic maritime security architecture.

    “Such structure would ensure a secure and safe maritime environment for optimal exploration and exploitation of the abundant maritime resources.

    “These resources are germane for socio-economic growth and national development of the sub-Saharan Africa while providing economic opportunities for the rest of the world,’’ Ezeoba said.

    Ezeoba said the security of the GoG should be anchored on the Yaounde declaration “within the context of extant code of conduct, protocols and memoranda of understanding of the GoG commission, ECOWAS and ECCAS’’.

    “It is only logical that we also place maritime security on the top rungs of our national security priorities.

    “An effective maritime security regime in the GoG must be pitched on core attributes such as the elimination of sea blindness within the African continent, sincerity of purpose, strength of character and above all, the political will of all member-states and stakeholders.”

     

  • Kufuor leads ECOWAS delegation to Mali election

    Former Ghanaian President, John Kufuor, is leading a 250-man ECOWAS observer mission to the Malian election, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    Mr. Frank Agyekum, the former president’s Spokesman, said in statement that the delegation comprises of representatives of ECOWAS member states, electoral commission officials, members of ECOWAS parliament, civil society groups and ECOWAS ambassadors.

    Agyekum said that Kufuor would leave Accra on Wednesday to Bamako ahead of the election scheduled for July 28.

    He said that Kufuor would leave Bamako for Kampala, Uganda after his mission in Mali for the 90th anniversary of the Makerere University.

    “Kufuor will present a paper on the topic: `Oil Resource Management and Utilisation for Economic Transformation `The Case of Ghana’ he said.

    NAN reports that 28 presidential aspirants are already campaigning across Mali ahead of the election.

     

  • Africa loses $300b to oil theft, illegal fishing

    Africa loses $300b to oil theft, illegal fishing

    African countries have lost about $300billion to oil theft and illegal fishing in the continent, the Chairperson of the African Union, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has said.

    She spoke yesterday at the opening ceremony of the first summit of Heads of States and Governments of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC),in Yaounde, the Cameroon.

    Dlamini-Zuma said the continent has lost $200 billion in five decades to illegal fishing and $100 billion to illegal bunkering since 2003.

    ”We cannot allow this incursion of resources to continue”. She warned.

    President Goodluck Jonathan according to a statement, was among the 25 African leaders that were at the opening ceremony of the summit, which focuses on maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea.

    The leaders gathered under the UN Resolution 2039 of February 2012, for the Gulf of Guinea region where 200 million people are living under threat of piracy and transnational maritime crimes.

    The summit is to provide a coordinated regional and international response to the scourges of piracy, drug trafficking, armed robbery and other illegal maritime activities in the Gulf of Guinea.

    At the meeting, the leaders according to the statement, will review and adopt a series of measures that were previously reviewed at the March 2013 inter-ministerial conference held in Cotonou (Benin).

    The Nigerian Navy disclosed that the country records between 10 to 15 attacks monthly on its stretch of the Gulf of Guinea.

    According to statistics released at the summit, in the year 2012, 45 per cent of the crimes were committed on Nigeria’s borders, Togo 25 per cent, Ghana three per cent, DRC three per cent, Cameroon five per cent, whi;e Sierra Leone was two per cent. Benin recorded three per cent while Cote d’ Ivoire had two per cent.

    The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) also broke down the attacks recorded to 58 in 2011, 45 in 2012, 34 of which occurred between January and September of the same year as against 30 in 2011 during the same period.

    The attacks have resulted to insecurity, threats to economic growth and political stability in neighbouring countries.

    The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon in his message delivered by Abou Moussa, commended the leaders of the ECCAS, the ECOWAS and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC).

    The host, President Paul Biya, called on his colleagues to make sacrifices to reverse the negative trend.

  • Nigeria, others lose $300bn to oil theft, illegal fishing

    Nigeria, others lose $300bn to oil theft, illegal fishing

    African countries have lost about $300 billion to oil theft and illegal fishing in the continent, the Chairperson of the African Union, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has said.

    She spoke yesterday at the opening ceremony of the first summit of Heads of States and Governments of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC),in Yaounde, the Cameroon.

    According to her, the continent has lost $200 billion in five decades to illegal fishing and $100 billion to illegal bunkering since 2003.

    “We cannot allow this incursion of resources to continue”. She warned

    President Goodluck Jonathan was among the 25 African leaders that were at the opening ceremony of the summit, which focuses on maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea.

    The leaders gathered under the UN Resolution 2039 of February 2012, for the Gulf of Guinea region where 200 million people are living under threat of piracy, transnational maritime crimes.

    The summit is to provide a coordinated regional and international response to the scourges of piracy, drug trafficking, armed robbery and other illegal maritime activities in the Gulf of Guinea.

    At the summit, the leaders will review and adopt a series of measures that were previously reviewed at the March 2013 inter-ministerial conference held in Cotonou (Benin).

    The Nigerian Navy disclosed that the country records between 10 to 15 attacks monthly on its stretch of the Gulf of Guinea.

    According to statistics released at the summit, in the year 2012, 45 per cent of the crimes were committed on Nigeria’s borders, Togo 25 per cent, Ghana three per cent, DRC three per cent, Cameroon five per cent, Sierra Leone two per cent, Benin three per cent and Cote d’ Ivoire two per cent.

    The International Maritime Organization (IMO) also broke down the attacks recorded to 58 in 2011, 45 in 2012, 34 of which occurred between January and September of the same year as against 30 in 2011 during the same period.

    The attacks have resulted to insecurity, threats to economic growth and political stability in neighbouring countries.

    The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon in his message delivered by Abou Moussa, commended the leaders of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC).

    The summit, he said, is the best option available to save citizens of the affected countries from poverty since crime diminishes their economic power.

    The host, President Paul Biya, called on his colleagues to make sacrifices to reverse the negative trend.

  • Why Nigeria didn’t appeal ICJ ruling on Bakassi-Jonathan

    Why Nigeria didn’t appeal ICJ ruling on Bakassi-Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan has given reasons why Nigeria did not appeal the ruling of the International Court of Justice, which awarded the oil-rich territory of Bakassi to Cameroon in 2002.

    Speaking during an interactive session with Nigerian community in Yaounde, Cameroon, on Sunday night, Jonathan said that Nigeria did not appeal in order to ensure the protection of Nigerians living in Cameroon.

    According to him, when two countries are friendly, the people of the two countries also tend to be friendly, but when the two countries disagree, their citizens tend to disagree also.

    He also explained that Nigeria had no new evidence within the period of time that was given that will make a difference in the judgement.

    Jonathan is in Cameroon for the summit of Heads of States and Governments of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC), which started yesterday and focusing on maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea.

    While the area had been heavily guarded by Cameroonian soldiers since their country took control of the territory from Nigeria on August 14, 2008, there is a deadline for Nigerians there to decide to become Cameroonian latest by August 2012 or leave the territory.

    He said: “You all know what happened in Bakassi, there is no need to go back on why we couldn’t appeal. We had no new evidence within the period of time that was given that will make a difference in the judgement.

    “Our people should live a good and decent life in Cameroon. The forces of animosity are gradually dying down and the relationship is improving”. He added

    Jonathan assured the citizens that his government was totally committed to their welfare and that their concerns on high cost of residence permits, high cost of tuition fees for students among others would be tabled before his host, President Paul Biya in order to find amicable solution to them.

    Commending the good reports on Nigerians in Cameroon, he assured that the various concerns raised on security, power, infrastructural deficits back home in Nigeria are all being tackled.

    He maintained that two years of his administration has recorded significant progress in key sectors.

    Urging Nigerians in diaspora to ignore negative reports that exaggerate the problems back home, he said that they should take time out to look at the parameters, GDP growth, foreign direct investments, which, he said, showed that “the economy is strong.”

    Stressing that investors do not take money to countries where nothing is happening, the President claimed that out of every $10 that comes to the continent, $4 comes into Nigeria.

    Speaking on agriculture and cement, he noted that non-importation of rice has impacted on the country’s revenue, saying, “We cannot be a giant of Africa when we keep importing rice, we must put a stop to that. The way we are going we will soon be exporting rice in few years. We are now exporting cement about 20 million tonnes”.

    Admitting that Nigeria has health challenges, Jonathan said: “I can assure you we are on course, I will make you happy. We will exploit the opportunity”.

    He also expressed unhappiness that Nigeria is among the four countries in the world with cases of polio.

    “I’m uncomfortable with the figure, why should Nigeria be among the four countries in the world with polio? We are committed to eradicating polio and we will eradicate it”. He assured

    On the power sector, he said that his administration was almost done with the privatisation exercise and when completed, the sector “will take a life of its own.”

    He said that work has been going on on road infrastructure after the flood experienced in the country last year.

    President Jonathan also disclosed that he personally advocated voting by Nigerians in diaspora, but that he cannot use executive fiat to veto it.

    Stating that the process is on course, he urged them to be patient until the constitution is finally amended.

    He however advised those passionate about the issue to write a petition to the National Assembly in order to push for the amendment.

    He said: “On diaspora votes, I advocated for it but before we can have it the constitution will have to be amended. I cannot use executive fiat to do it, we have to follow the constitution. We have a very vibrant diaspora and should be heard. You should send your petition to National Assembly so that they will know is not only Mr. President that is interested in it”.

    Promising that he will not allow them to be victimized or maltreated, Jonathan dispelled fears that the Federal Government has abandoned Nigerians who remained in the peninsula after its transfer to Cameroon.

    Nigeria High Commissioner to Cameroon, Hadiza Mustapha, in her opening remarks said the Nigerian community “is the best community any ambassador could ask for. They are hardworking, patrotic, law-abiding and have good working relations with the Mission”.

    She said the good working relationship existing between Nigeria and Cameroon has brought about reduction in harassment of citizens living in the host country.

    She said the complains of Nigerian citizens have been tabled before the Cameroonian authorities and “so far we have no reason to doubt the commitment of our host government to address the issues”.

    The President of the Nigerian Union, Center Region, Ebere Valentine, assured the President that Nigerians in Cameroon will continue to become good ambassadors and “project the image of our country well”.

    He appealed for more government involvement in the welfare of Nigerians in Cameroon as regards the cost of residence permit, saying 50 per cent reduction will be a welcome development”.

    Olukorede Adenowo, Managing Director, Standard Chartered Bank, West and Central Africa, who is the representative of Nigerians in the Corporate Sector in Cameroon, said that there were opportunities that exist in the Cameroons and advised Nigerian businessmen to take advantage of the geographical proximity and the comparatively high prices.

    He noted that Nigerian businesses were active in aviation, general commerce, downstream oil and gas and banking in the Cameroon.

    He said other areas Nigerians can assist in terms of foreign direct investment and simultaneously make decent returns in Cameroon are in oil and gas exploration and production, commercial and residential real estates, entertainments, shopping malls.

    “We have been instrumental in working with our High Commission in bringing in several Nigerian businesses and helping them find their feet in Cameroon. We Nigerian professionals are ready and available to do more”, he said.

    Representative from the Bakassi Peninsular, Chief Etim Effiong, commended President Jonathan for not abandoning those of them that choose to remain in the Cameroon as Nigerians.

    According to him, they couldn’t bare to abandon the land that belonged to their fore-fathers for years and expressed happiness that the Nigerian government was working with the Cameroonian government to make them safe and at home in their community.

     

  • Export Promotion Council for solo exhibition in Togo

    Nigerian manufacturers have been invited by the Republic of Togo for a solo exhibition of Nigeria’s manufactured goods.
    Speaking during a press briefing in Lagos, the Director Trade Information Department of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council  (NEPC), who represented Mr. Aliyu Lawal, the Executive Director/ CEO of NEPC, David Adulugba, said the exhibition would come up in Lome, Togo’s capital city, between July 27 and August 10, 2013.
    According to him,  the invitation of Nigeria for the solo trade exhibition in Lome was facilitated by the splendid performance of the manufactured goods from Nigeria during the 10th Lome International Trade fair in December 2012 in Lome.
    “NEPC took the decision to organise the exhibition to boost the penetration and acceptance of Nigerian products in the entire ECOWAS, after her participation in the 10th Lome International Trade fair, December 2012, where the Nigerian Ambassador to Togo, Amabassador Sunday Adoli, reasoned that the Republic of Togo would make a perfect trade hub for the distribution of Nigerian manufactured goods with ECOWAS countries,” Lawal said.
    The director Trade Information revealed that despite the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme and the principle of free trade movement of persons among member-states,  the level of trade among member-states within the region is insignificant.
    He said that despite Nigeria’s presence in many West African countries, “It has not been able to penetrate Francophone countries because they mostly import from France. He therefore said that “the timely decision to stage the exhibition became more imperative considering the strategic location to Togo. More so, the event would assist to curb the large spate of informal trade between the two countries.”
    Lawal said the planned solo exhibition is an important window towards making non- oil a significant contributor to the Nigerian GDP.
    Speaking at the occasion, the Director-General of NACCIMA,  Dr. John Isemede, took time to explain to the would-be participants what would be required of them during the exhibition. He reiterated that the best of the Nigerian  goods would be taken to the event.
    The National Vice President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce,  Mines and Agriculture, Iyalode Alaba Lawson, took time to mobilise women for the solo exhibition, urging them to be part of the event in Lome, Togo.

  • ECOWAS to boost agric with $56m

    ECOWAS to boost agric with $56m

    The West African Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) Economic Community  of West African States(ECOWAS) plans to boost the agricultural sector with $56million.

    The amount is to be spent over a five-year period.

    The National Project Coordinator, Prof. Damian Chikwendu, made this known at a meeting between WAAPP and Federal University of Agriculture in Makurdi.

    WAAPP is a sub-regional programme of ECOWAS coordinated by the West and Central African Council for Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD).

    The amount is made up of US$30 million sub-regional International Development Association (IDA) and US$15 million Nigeria IDA.

    According to Chikwendu, the Federal Government is providing counterpart funding of US$5. million.

    In addition, he  said the Spanish Government through the Global Food Crisis    Response Programme (GFPR) is providing a US$6million grant. He said 1.5 million farmers, processors and marketers are expected to benefit from the project

    Beneficiaries, he  said,  would come from  adopted villages and communities around them.

    Chikwenu said the main objective of WAAPP is to improve agricultural productivity and promote regional integration.

  • ECOWAS partners GE on regional integration

    Economic Community of West Africa ,ECOWAS, and America’s GE Corporation are to explore areas of cooperation, in energy projects and infrastructure development to boost regional trade integration.

    A statement from ECOWAS said this was a key outcome of a meeting between officials of the ECOWAS Commission and a GE delegation, which paid a courtesy call on the Commission’s Vice President, Dr. Toga Gayewea McIntosh in Abuja last week.

    Receiving the four-member delegation, led by Mr Karan Bhatia, GE’s Vice, President and Senior Counsel, Global Government Affairs and Policy, Dr. McIntosh, on behalf of the President of the Commission, said the new management at the Commission was calibrating its priorities for effective balance between peace and security and economic development, to deliver on its mandate.

    He explained that the inability of individual countries to harness the region’s vast resources makes integration inevitable especially through public private partnerships.

    The statement stressed that the Vice President named energy, transportation, oil and gas, health care and capacity building, as the potential areas of collaboration and partnership between ECOWAS and GE.

  • Nexim Sealink project and intra–Ecowas trade

    Nexim Sealink project and intra–Ecowas trade

    The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was established on May 28, 1975 as a regional trade organisation comprising countries in the West African sub-region. The aim o f setting up the Community was manifested in its original treaty. According to provisions set out in the treaty of Lagos, and later, the revised treaty in 1993, the objectives were to promote co-operation in economic, social and cultural activities towards a desirable establishment of an economic and monetary union through the total integration of the national economies of member-states. Inherent in the letter and spirit of the Treaty were the ideals to raise the living standards of the ‘ECO-citizen,’ maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations among member-states and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent in line with the principal provisions of the African Economic Community (AEC) Treaty under the African Union.

    Within four years of the operationalisation of the treaty, it became clear that as laudable as it sounded, the goal of achieving total integration of national economies of the constituent countries would require more concerted effort and commitment. Hence, the 1979 Protocol relating to free movement of persons, goods, services and right of establishment was conceived as an instrument to enable free movement of ECOWAS citizens within the sub-region. Loaded into the protocol were the goals of institutionalising a single regional socioeconomic space, providing ECO citizens with opportunities in member-states, including the utilisation of arable land by indigenous agriculturists, access to coastal areas by landlocked member states, employment of English and French language experts and, most significantly, unfettered access to natural resources by member-states. In a nutshell, the Protocol was intended to create a ‘Borderless West Africa.’

    Leveraging Nigeria’s Commitment

    No other economy within the sub-region has been weighed down more than Nigeria from a disconnected West African market. Given the huge size of its population and GDP, the various Administrations in Nigeria had demonstrated ample political will to ensure the Community thrives. Indeed, the country has been the galvaniser of the ‘ECOWAS dream’ and has doggedly deployed human and material resources to keep the trade bloc together in the face of recurring political, economic, socio-cultural upheavals since the days of ECOMOG till the current intervention of its military in the Malian crisis.

    What is lacking, according to international relations experts, is for Nigeriato lead the process towards realistically breaking down the trade walls under the Free Movement Protocol and unleashing the potential of free exchanges of goods and services as have been witnessed in similar trade regimes under Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) or the trilateral North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).Understandably, the implementation of most of these agreements is being spearheaded by the various export credit agencies of the constituentcountries.

    Hence, it behoved Nigerian Export-Import Bank, (NEXIM Bank) – the trade policy bank of the Federal Government of Nigeria – to facilitate the process for the establishment of a dedicated sea link within the ECOWAS region.This is borne out of concernsby the current executive team of NEXIM Bank led by the MD/CEO, Mr. Roberts Orya, on the partial realisation of ECOWAS’ intra-regional trade facilitation and operational objectives, high intra-regional freight costs and shipment delays, which make cargo delivery within the sub-region to take an average of 45 – 60 days.

    At the recent sensitisation and pre-investors’ forum on the Sealink Project on Wednesday, March 27th, 2013 in Lagos,for the entire council and executive of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, (NACCIMA),Mr. Orya provided an update on the initiative and invited its membership to invest and partner with the Bank and other stakeholders in the SPV and Regional Maritime Company. He stated the Bank is facilitating the establishment of a dedicated Regional Sealink project as a means of overcoming the challenge of road infrastructure as well as absence of rail links within the region which has perpetually bedevilled intra-regional trade. The appeal for a sealink is further strengthened by the comparative low budgetary cost and short implementation timeline for a sea link-project vis-à-vis either a regional road or rail project.

    According to Mr. Orya, the availability of a maritime vessel will significantlyreduce the high transportation costs and excessive transit time which make intra-regional trade non-competitive, with West and Central African transport and logistics costs identified as one of the highest in the World. According to available statistics, these have resulted in low level intra-regional trade at less than 12% and 10% for African and ECOWAS trade respectively, compared to other regional blocs such as European Union (EU) andASEAN whose intra-regional trade flows are respectively at 50%, 40% and 25%.

    Why embrace the Sealink Project?

    Inviting the NACCIMA to invest in the project, Orya stated that the funding requirement for the regional sealink project is $60million out of which $36 million will be required to purchase vessels, equipment, office space and other infrastructure and $24 million for working capital to cover general and administrative costs to be raised through equity and debt financing respectively.

    Beyond making business sense, the project has some inherent accruable national benefits that further justify its implementation.

    These include unlocking opportunities in the maritime sector through effective indigenous participation, thereby stimulating maritime-related employment as well as localising some of the maritime freight payments of an average of $5 billion annually from import / export tonnages.

    It will also facilitate the realisation of the various Maritime-related laws like the Cabotage and MIMASA Acts and the implementation of the National Shipping Policy; stimulate and attract private sector funding for the development of key maritime infrastructure with the national benefit of improving the level of intra-regional formal trade, thereby enhancing contribution of trade/exports to GDP.

    Also, it will assist in palliating the disastrous effects of road/rail infrastructural deficit challenges that affect regional integration and a major cause of the muted growth witnessed over the years in intra-African and ECOWAS trade levels.

    Most importantly, it will enhance competitiveness of Nigerian exports, thereby improving the contribution of manufactured exports from the current level of under 6%, and enhancing local industrial capacity utilisation and attracting new investments.

    Additionally, the project will enhance Nigeria’s status as a maritime hub for West and Central Africa with attendant benefits of facilitating Atlantic short-sea trade and development of pool of talent / manpower for the industry.

    Furthermore, it has the immense potential to stimulate multimodal transport development to cater for non-littoral regional member countries;hence it will facilitate growth of hinterland haulage business as the market segment is not yet targeted by major shipping lines, thereby offering a huge opportunity to the proposed Sealink Project.

    The Transformation Agenda

    The Sealink project is in line with the Transformation Agenda of the government which projects investments in roads, railways, inland waterways, ports and airports developmentin collaboration with various stakeholders to evolve a multimodal, integrated and sustainable transport system, with emphasis on rail and waterways, through an effective Public-Private Partnership arrangement. This aims to create synergy and ensure an even and nation-wide distribution of gains from the Administration’s investments in the key sectors, termed ‘main growth drivers’ such as the manufacturing, agriculture, solid minerals, manufacturing, services, trade and commerce, etc. Affirmatively, the Sealink Project will take the gains of the Transformation Agenda beyond the shores of the country. It will immediately open up our shores and immensely contribute to Nigeria’s march to become the premier economy in Africa through creating a seamless export platform for movement of Nigeria’s manufactured/semi-processed goods, services, and personnel with a certainty to boost competitiveness and productivity across these sectors. Specifically, it will spur more private sector initiative and innovation, enhance the development of the key sectors’ value chain, create/sustain more Nigerian jobs as the ECOWAS markets become one and Nigeria’s products and services are brought to the world.

    Sponsorships/Collaborations

    The project has been endorsed by the government of Nigeria. It has also been adopted and is being sponsored by the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FEWACCI) withother endorsements/collaborations by the ECOWAS Commission,the ECOWAS Parliament, various multi/bilateral institutions including theMaritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), strong private sector support through various trade associations and heightened expression of interest by potential investors (locally and internationally).

    In his remarks, the National President of NACCIMA, Dr. H.A.B. Ajayi, lauded Mr. Orya for the patriotic zeal which moved NEXIM Bank to come up with the Regional Sealink Project and the vigour with which he is pursuing its realisation.

    He also concurred that the ECOWAS market is huge and has not been fully tapped as a result of logistical challenges being faced in movement of goods and persons, especially due to the absence of a direct shipping line for the West and Central African corridor. In this regard, NACCIMA, as a member of the FEWACCI, will like to join forces with NEXIM Bank and other progressive entities in actualising the project. According to him, “As the apex business association in Nigeria, NACCIMA is supporting the setting up of the shipping company as we did during the establishment of ECOBANK Transnational which has become a household name in all the West African States and beyond. We would like to also stress the need for chieftains of industry here present to take ample opportunity by participating in the raising of the $36million that would form the equity capital for the setting up of the transnational shipping company.”

     

    Moghalu is Head, Corporate Communication, Nigerian Export – Import Bank

  • Nigeria seeks AU’s support for UN seat

    Nigeria seeks AU’s support for UN seat

    Nigeria is to formally request the African Union to endorse its bid for a non-permanent seat of the United Nations Security Council in 2014-2015, during the body’s forthcoming summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Foreign Affairs Minister, Olugbenga Ashiru, made made the announcement on Friday in Abuja while briefing journalists on the forthcoming AU meeting in Addis Ababa, scheduled for May 25 to May 27.

    “Specifically Nigeria’s bid for the non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council will be formally presented to the AU.

    “ECOWAS has not only endorsed Nigeria’s candidature, the African Group at the UN in New York, has similarly, declared its support for Nigeria’s bid.

    “In addition, Nigeria is presenting candidates for two elections that will come up before the executive council during the summit.

    “They include the African Union Commission on Human and People’s Right and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.’’

    He said that Nigeria had already received the endorsement of the AU for the election of its candidates to the presidency of the Executive Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

    The election comes up in Montreal, Canada, later in the year.

    He said that Nigeria’s bid for the UN seat and other regional international positions were of great significance to the country.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria last served in the prestigious UN Security Council from 2010-2011 and is seeking a re-election for another two-terms from 2014-2015.

    The country is promoting its contributions to peacekeeping and security in Africa accomplishments as credentials that qualify it for another term of membership.

    NAN reports that Nigeria and Chad are campaigning for the two available African seats at the council.

    The forthcoming election is to replace Togo, Morocco, Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Guatemala, whose two-year-term at the council expires on December 31.