National News
ECOWAS, AFD sign agreement to improve food security
ECOWAS, AFD sign agreement to improve food security
By: Michael Mike, Abuja
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the French Development Agency (AFD) have signed an agreement of €8 million to support the food security storage system in the West African subregion.
The agreement was signed by President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Jean-Claude Kassi Brou and the Director of the French Development Agency (AFD) in Nigeria, Mr. Xavier Muron in the presence of the French Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mrs. Emmanuelle Blatmann, on Tuesday in Abuja.
A statement on Friday by the French Ambassador disclosed that the agreement is for a complementary funding of the Interim Phase of the support to the Food Security Storage System in West Africa.
According to the statement, this new funding follows a pilot phase funded by the European Union for €56 million (of which €31.9 million delegated to AFD) to support the ECOWAS Regional Food Security Storage Strategy, which was adopted in 2012, that combines local stocks, national stocks and a Regional Food Security Reserve (RFSR) to ensure regional solidarity in the event of a major food crisis in the region.
The statement said the €8 million and 3-year AFD support to ECOWAS aims to increase the region’s readiness to manage food, nutrition and pastoral crises with a variety of causes, noting that increasing crises management capacity involves consolidating, in the short term, the achievements of the implementation of the first phase of the RFSR and building a multilateral partnership around the regional food security storage system in the mid and long terms.
The President of the ECOWAS Commission was quoted to have said: “ECOWAS welcomes AFD’s new financial support to the regional solidarity instrument, the relevance and effectiveness of which were demonstrated during the first phase. The new funding will notably enable the Regional Food Security Reserve to increase its readiness to fully play its role as the first line of defence in the event of a shock affecting people’s ability to feed themselves. The new phase will also be an opportunity to build a multi-stakeholder funding partnership to ensure the sustainability of our food security storage system,”
Also Read: AWARDS: PROFESSOR YUSUF DANKOFA’S REPLY, A FOOD FOR THOUGHT…
The statement said the ECOWAS Commission, through its Department of Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources, is responsible for the implementation of the new project. The project activities will be implemented in all fifteen (15) ECOWAS Member States, as well as in two (2) CILSS Member States (Chad and Mauritania) that were involved in the implementation of the pilot phase.
The Director of AFD Nigeria explained that: “AFD’s partnership with the ECOWAS Commission since 2011 in supporting the implementation of the Regional Agricultural Policy, ECOWAP, is a living model. We have no doubt that this new support will contribute to the sustainability of the food security storage system in West Africa and mobilize other development partners to further strengthen resilience to the various shocks affecting food security in the region.”
While commending the depth of the AFD – ECOWAS partnership, the French Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, added that France wishes to fully pursue its role of a strategic partner in the region by supporting projects that contribute to strengthening peace and security, as well as the fight against the effects of climate change.
The new phase will call for adaptations of the regulatory framework of the RFSR, the design of innovative financial mechanisms, and increased mobilization of the International Community in supporting the region’s food security storage strategy. It will also require adaptation of response instruments to rapid-onset crises and new risk factors like health crises such as Ebola or more global ones such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the statement, ECOWAS’ mission is to promote cooperation and integration with a view to improving the standard of living of its peoples, maintaining and enhancing economic stability, strengthening relations between Member States and contributing to the progress and development of the African continent. In the field of agriculture, ECOWAS works, through its Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP), to ensure food security and provide decent incomes for its citizens.
ECOWAS, AFD sign agreement to improve food security
Nigerien Army Deserter Who Joined Boko Haram Surrenders in Diffa Region
By: Our Reporter
A deserter from the Niger Republic Armed Forces who reportedly joined the terrorist group Boko Haram has surrendered to local authorities in Kindjandi, located in the Diffa Region of southeastern Niger Republic.
The individual, identified as Abba Ibrahim, had been serving with the Nigerien Armed Forces since 2022 before deserting his post in Bosso on March 8, 2025, according to military intelligence sources. He fled alongside a fellow soldier, Bandam Dala, and subsequently joined a Boko Haram faction active in the Lake Chad area.
Security sources disclosed that Ibrahim surrendered on April 21, 2025, arriving in Kindjandi on horseback with a rifle. He was accompanied by an unidentified young man whose details are yet to be confirmed.
Ibrahim was taken into custody by the Nigerien Armed Forces on the morning of April 22, 2025, and is currently undergoing debriefing and interrogation by military intelligence.
The Diffa Region has remained a hotspot for insurgent activity due to its proximity to Lake Chad and border areas with Nigeria, where Boko Haram and other extremist groups operate.
Nigerien Army Deserter Who Joined Boko Haram Surrenders in Diffa Region
National News
ECOWAS @50: WADEMOS Commends Subregional bloc for Inviting Mali, Burkina-Faso, Niger to Launch
ECOWAS @50: WADEMOS Commends Subregional bloc for Inviting Mali, Burkina-Faso, Niger to Launch
By: Michael Mike
The West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network (WADEMOS) has commended the initiative by ECOWAS to extend an invitation to the governments of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger for the official launch of ECOWAS’ golden jubilee in Accra.
The Network, in a press statement on Tuesday, said it supports the initiative by ECOWAS to ease tensions and foster diplomacy in a bid to sustain the common heritage, shared history, and longstanding socio-cultural ties of the peoples.
The statement read: “As ECOWAS opens its doors and extends an arm of friendship and collaboration to Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, the Network encourages the three countries to reciprocate the gesture, upholding the spirit of good neighbourliness and cross-border cooperation. Such
cooperation is necessary now more than ever, especially as we require a concerted effort to confront matters of common interest to the subregion, such as security and trade.
“WADEMOS maintains the position that the restoration of trust and confidence between
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, on the one hand, and ECOWAS, on the other hand,
remains critical to sustaining cooperation and enhancing the free movement of goods and people. Building trust and confidence, we believe, is also critical to effectively combat the growing threat of terrorism across the subregion.
“Considering the close ties that exist among the West African peoples, WADEMOS
continues to urge the three Sahelian countries to be reconciliatory in their engagements with ECOWAS.”
WADEMOS is an independent and non-partisan network of diverse national and transnational civil society organisations and civic groups working to promote and defend democracy, good governance, and inclusive development in the West Africa region.
It mobilizes, coordinates, and leverages the collective voice and power of civil society and other pro-democracy actors, resources, and opportunities within the West Africa region to advance its mission. The current membership of WADEMOS stands at 47 spread across West Africa.
The WADEMOS Secretariat is based in Accra, Ghana.
ECOWAS @50: WADEMOS Commends Subregional bloc for Inviting Mali, Burkina-Faso, Niger to Launch
Interior Minister Orders Investigation into Alleged Extortion by NSCDC Officers
By: Michael Mike
The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has ordered an immediate investigation into allegations of extortion involving officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The officers, according to a viral post, allegedly extorted ₦5.2 million from a group of young men traveling from Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State to Akure, Ondo State.
The Minister, in a statement by his spokesman, Babatunde Alao, noted that any officer found guilty will face the full weight of the law.
He said: “We will not tolerate any form of misconduct from our security agencies.
“We are building a paramilitary that is disciplined, professional and serve Nigeria and Nigerians with all sense of diginity and patriotism.
“On this case, we will see that justice is upheld and ensure that security personnel serve with forthrightness,” he said.
Interior Minister Orders Investigation into Alleged Extortion by NSCDC Officers
Gunman kills four in Benue village attack
Police confirmed another killing of livestock, missing herder in Plateau
Young woman found dead in suspected suicide at Life Camp Abuja construction site
Roger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
THE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
POLICE CHARGE ROOMS, A MINTING PRESS
-
News1 year agoRoger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
-
Opinions3 years ago
THE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
-
Opinions3 years ago
POLICE CHARGE ROOMS, A MINTING PRESS
-
News1 year agoEYN: Rev. Billi, Distortion of History, and The Living Tamarind Tree
-
Columns1 year agoArmy University Biu: There is certain interest, but certainly not from Borno.
-
ACADEMICS1 year agoA History of Biu” (2015) and The Lingering Bura-Pabir Question (1)
-
Opinions1 year agoTinubu,Shettima: The epidemic of economic, insecurity in Nigeria
-
Politics8 months agoKashim Shettima: Of Sentiments, Their Opinions, and the 21 billion Naira VP’s Official Resident
