Economy
Experts Seek Urgent Action on Food Security Threat in West Africa
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Governments of the West African nations have been urged to quickly take actions that would address food security threat in the region.
According to a report titled ‘The Cost of Ocean Destruction,’ which was released to celebrate the World Fisheries Day, vessels arrested for illegally fishing in West African waters are still carrying on with business as usual.
The report, released by Greenpeace Africa, detailed how West African fishermen and communities continue to suffer from the consequences of overfishing and illegal fishing in this region and it provides specific recommendations for governments on how to solve the crisis.
Greenpeace appealed to West African governments as well as nations fishing in, or importing seafood from the region, to stand together to protect millions of Africans against the unceasing onslaught of industrial fishing fleets.
Greenpeace is also demanding that authorities provide follow-up information on fishing vessels and crews that were arrested during a joint patrol by Greenpeace and African fisheries inspectors last spring.
According to the project leader in Greenpeace Netherlands, Pavel Klinckhamers, “The current situation in West Africa is a result of decades of overfishing and inaction, but it is also a result of commitments from West African governments and foreign fishing nations, like China, South Korea and the EU, that were simply never translated into reality.
“Coastal communities are the ones paying the price and they cannot wait any longer. African states and foreign fishing nations in the region have to change course and put in place the policies that these communities need in order to survive.”
In only 20 days, Greenpeace and fisheries inspectors from Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone and Senegal came across 17 vessels contravening applicable rules, while 11 of these vessels were arrested for infractions which included involvement in illegal transshipment, fishing in breach of their license conditions, using illegal nets and shark finning.
However, only six months later, all 17 vessels are still licensed to fish in West African waters, and in most cases, local authorities are not responding to requests from Greenpeace to clarify what legal steps were taken after the arrests.
Chinese authorities have ordered provincial authorities to punish the captains of some of the Chinese vessels involved in infringements, while specific subsidies to their operations have also been cancelled.
The general lack of information on each case is symptomatic of the lack of transparency and accountability of governments when it comes to fisheries policies.
“West African countries keep signing new and opaque fishing agreements with foreign countries without putting in place the means to monitor their activities and sufficiently take the interests of local small-scale fishermen into account.
“This kind of practice has disastrous consequences for the marine environment, for local fishermen and hence for African communities as well,” Pavel Klinckhamers said.
One of the main fishing players in the region, China, is currently conducting a revision of its Provisions for the Administration of Distant Water Fishery.
The review will include new sanctions for IUU fishing, however It is still crucial to ensure transparency, effective implementation, and the strengthening and effective enforcement of punishment measures by coastal West African countries, when vessels break the law.
Also, a number of new fisheries agreements are currently in the making. Last month China signed long term fisheries agreements with Sierra Leone and Mauritania and the EU is working on a fisheries agreement with Guinea Bissau, since the current protocol will expire later this month.
According to unconfirmed information, Senegal and Russia are also holding conversations around reintroducing Russia’s industrial fishing fleet, that was kicked out of Senegal back in 2012.
“This is not a quick fix, and we need everyone involved in West African fisheries to cooperate. For African states in particular, they need to manage shared resources jointly and ensure priority is given to the labor intensive, small-scale sector. This sector which directly employs one million people and generates €3 billion annually. At the same time, we need foreign fishing nations to ensure their fleets do not undermine the sustainability of fisheries in the countries they operate in,“ Ibrahima Cisse, senior oceans campaign manager in Greenpeace Africa, said.
For more than 15 years, Greenpeace and other NGOs have warned against overexploitation of fish stocks in West African waters and its serious impacts on livelihoods, food security and employment for millions of people in this region. Also, we have outlined how substantial progress can be made through strong cooperation and harmonization of West African fisheries policies and legislation.
In fact, regional cooperation has been at the core of an already established mandate for West African countries of the Sub regional Fisheries Commission, SRFC, since 1985.
Still, very little has been done in reality to turn the tides for West African waters, and the situation out at sea in West Africa and the consequences on land, are alarming.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s maiden shipment under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has successfully arrived at the Mombasa Port in Kenya.
According to the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office in a statement, the development marks a historic moment for Africa’s trade landscape.
The Senior Trade Expert at the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office, Mr Olusegun Olutayo, said in line with its mandate under the leadership of the National Coordinator, Mr Olusegun Awolowo, the office had coordinated the landmark event.
He said the achievement marked a significant milestone for Nigeria in realising the vision of increased intra-African trade and economic integration championed by the agreement in line with the decision of the AU Assembly at the 31st Ordinary Session of the Assembly.
“In times of escalating geopolitical tension and looming geo-economic fragmentation, AfCFTA presents a perfect opportunity for Africa to leverage trade as a strategic instrument for enhanced market access among state parties.
“This is a historic moment, a realisation of the vision of our continent’s founding fathers and mothers.”
He also said the first consignment which was a synthetic filaments product of Nigeria’s Lucky Fibres Limited (Lush), a subsidiary of the Tolaram Group, was exported under AfCFTA preferential terms.
Mr Olutayo lauded the bold economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu, emphasising their catalytic role in enabling the country’s active participation in AfCFTA, fostering continental economic integration and industrialisation goals.
He also commended the seamless cooperation and commitment from Kenyan authorities, which exemplifies the true spirit of AfCFTA.
He acknowledged the pivotal leadership role of the AfCFTA Secretariat in fostering the success and emphasised the collaborative efforts of the Kenya AfCFTA Implementation Committee and the Kenya Revenue Authority (Customs).
According to him, the shipment, exported under AfCFTA preferential trade terms, underscores partnership, shared vision, the agreement’s potential to transform Africa’s economic landscape and pave the way for a new era of trade-driven prosperity.
The AfCFTA seeks to create a single market across Africa by reducing barriers to trade, investment, and labour.
The agreement’s goal is to increase socioeconomic development, reduce poverty, and make Africa more competitive globally.
On March 21, 2018, the AfCFTA agreement was adopted and opened for signature in Kigali, Rwanda. The agreement entered into force on May 30, 2019 and officially commenced on January 2021
Former President Muhammadu Buhari established the National Action Committee on AfCFTA (NAC) in December 2019.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has fixed January 31 as deadline for all Capital Market Operators (CMOs) to renew their operating licence.
In a circular to the operators on Sunday, the apex regulatory agency in the country’s capital market said the annual registration renewal would last between January 1 and 31, 2025.
SEC said the annual registration renewal enforcement for CMOs was aimed at ensuring that only “fit and proper” persons operate in the capital market, warning that CMOs without valid registration will be penalised and may be excluded from capital market activities.
”This is to inform all CMOs and the general public that the annual renewal of registration of CMOs for the year 2025 will commence from January 01.
“All CMOs applying for renewal are required to include their 2025 annual subscription receipt from their respective trade groups as part of their application.
“In line with the commission’s Rules & Regulations, all CMOs are to complete the process of renewal of registration for 2025 on or before January 31 via registration renewal portal at www.eportal.sec.gov.ng,” it said.
The commission added that CMOs desiring to make enquiries or get support to complete the process should contact [email protected].
The regulator said it had in 2021 re-introduced periodic registration renewal by CMOs to create a reliable active operators’ data bank in the country’s capital market.
It said the renewal arrangement aimed at updating operators information on capital market for official use by local and foreign investors, other regulatory agencies and the public.
The agency added that the renewals would drastically reduce incidences of unethical practices by CMOs which may affect investors’ confidence and impact the capital market negatively, noting that the exercise will strengthen supervision and monitoring of CMOs by the commission.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The third trading week of 2025 ended on a positive note at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange, with seven equities on the platform inspiring a 1.24 per cent growth.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the bourse increased by N21.56 billion during the five-day trading week to N1.075 trillion from the N1.053 trillion quoted in the preceding week (Week 2) as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) expanded by 37.98 points to 3,111.91 points from the 3,073.93 points it ended in the preceding week.
In the period under review, the volume of transactions went down by 42.1 per cent to 9.45 million units from the 16.30 million units in the previous week, as the value of trades declined by 53.1 per cent to N48.4 million from the N104.11 million, with these transactions completed in 122 deals involving 15 different stocks.
Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 50 per cent in the week to close at 36 Kobo per share versus 34 Kobo per share, Mixta Real Estate Plc increased by 20 per cent to end at N2.58 per unit compared with the previous week’s N2.15 per unit, and Okitipupa Plc rose by 10 per cent to N39.59 per share from N35.99 per share.
Further, UBN Property Plc grew by 10 per cent to N2.20 per unit from N2.02 per unit, Newrest Asl Plc jumped by 9.9 per cent to N31.38 per share from N28.53 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc surged by 3.7 per cent to N39.65 per unit from N38.22 per unit, and 11 Plc advanced by 0.3 per cent to N256.00 per share from N255.31 per share.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc topped the activity chart last week by value with with N0.030 billion, 11 Plc recorded N0.009 billion, Central Security Clearing System (CSCS) Plc raked in N0.004 billion, IGI Plc followed with N0.002 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc recorded N0.002 billion.
However, IGI Plc was the most traded instrument by volume with 7.5 million units, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc transacted 0.77 million units, UBN Property Plc recorded 0.38 million, Geo-Fluids Plc traded 0.37 million units, and CSCS Plc posted 0.16 million units.
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