Tinubu wants stronger NEPAD cooperation, urges African countries to embrace Peace

Nigeria has called for stronger cooperation among the founding states of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), and  urged conflicting  African countries to embrace dialogue in order to  preserve peace on the continent.

The call was made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Nigeria’s National Statement delivered at the NEPAD Founding Member States’ Summit on Saturday in Alamein, Egypt.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Sola Enikanolaiye, who represented the president, delivered the national statement at the summit.

The statement was contained in a press release issued on Sunday by Richard Elesho, Special Adviser on Media and Strategic Communications to the minister.

The   summit, hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, marks the 25th anniversary of NEPAD, established by five African founding states.

According to the President, the anniversary offered an opportunity not only to celebrate NEPAD’s achievements but also to renew the continent’s commitment to development.

He stressed that NEPAD’s founding principle -that Africa’s development cannot be outsourced – remains even more compelling today in the face of geopolitical tensions, climate change, technology gaps and difficult global financing conditions.

Tinubu emphasised that Africa does not lack strategies, including Agenda 2063, AfCFTA and CAADP, but must now collectively operationalise them for the benefit of its teeming population, especially youths and women.

Nigeria therefore proposed five interconnected strategic priorities for founding states, which included, accelerating AfCFTA implementation, closing Africa’s infrastructure gap, strengthening development financing, investing in education and skills, and promoting peace, security and good governance.

Addressing growing continental friction, Tinubu made a passionate appeal for collective action to preserve peace on the continent.

He called on African leaders to prevail on fellow sister-countries currently at the verge of a shooting war to de-escalate tensions and return to diplomacy and the peaceful resolution of their differences.

The President’s call, which was an apparent reference to the rising tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, underscored Nigeria’s position that economic prosperity can only be achieved in a peaceful and orderly society.

He stressed that terrorism, violent extremism, transnational organised crimes and political instability continue to threaten communities and undermine economic progress.

The president therefore called for intelligence-sharing, stronger border management, greater investment in underlying socio-economic conditions, and fast-tracking the operationalisation of the Africa Standby Force.

Nigeria also welcomed the Summit Declaration and reaffirmed its readiness to work with fellow founding states to establish a structured cooperation mechanism on trade, infrastructure, energy, food security, technology, development finance, human capital and peace and security.

The proposed mechanism, the President said, would complement the work of AUDA-NEPAD and the African Union.