General
Experts Task Africa to Look Inwards to Tackle Governance Issues
By Dipo Olowookere
African leaders have been challenged to look for homegrown solutions and learn from their own experience in order to achieve structural transformation on the continent.
This, according to high-level speakers from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is key to unlocking Africa’s potential and advancing its prosperity.
Speaking at the 12th African Economic Conference (AEC) held on Monday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Mr Hailemariam Desalegn, advocated for strong democratic states with zero tolerance for corruption and mechanisms for wealth-sharing.
“Conferences such as this are important in order to learn from experience and adapt practices to each country’s socio-economic conditions. There are no specific policy templates that work everywhere,” he stressed.
Executive Secretary of ECA, Vera Songwe, called on leaders, economists and policy-makers to “look beyond the standard indicators of good governance.
“There is a growing consensus that African countries require a more conducive governance environment for them to be able to pursue better public policies and ultimately to achieve better outcomes, including structural transformation and inclusive development,” she said.
Célestin Monga, Vice-President, Economic Governance and Knowledge Management, at the African Development Bank, called for greater focus on addressing the economic loss caused by institutional inefficiencies and incompetence.
Monga stressed how corruption endangers economic growth, but pointed to the hidden loss due to lack of strong institutions, noting how difficult it is to address this when people are hungry.
“A lot of governance work has not been very helpful to Africa as it is often seen as a precondition,” Monga continued. “We cannot expect a country with US $300 GDP per capita to have the same governance system as a country with $78,000. You cannot compare Burundi to Switzerland.”
This is why the AfDB is rethinking governance in Africa, Monga said, stressing that good governance is also about learning.
Experts agree that notwithstanding overall improvement in governance especially in human development and political participation, the African region’s performance still lags behind other regions and hampers the successful reorientation of its economic activities.
“Maintaining growth of 5% should be seen as a favourable development. There have been setbacks, but Africa is gradually getting governance right,” said Lamin M. Manneh, Director of the UNDP Regional Service Center for Africa, on behalf of Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa.
Co-organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) under the theme “Governance for structural transformation”, this year’s conference focuses on the achievement of structural transformation in Africa with an emphasis on developmental governance.
About 500 researchers, policy-makers and development practitioners attended Day 1 of the conference.
The AEC provides an opportunity for participants to assess the impact of current economic and political governance strategies on economic transformation, poverty, inequality and human development in Africa.
Delivering the keynote address, Richard Joseph, Professor at Northwestern University, underscored why bold policy interventions must emanate from Africa.
“In Africa, this is the time for relative autonomy in dealing with policy issues,” he said.
The AEC offers in-depth presentations of policy-oriented research by both established academics and emerging researchers from the continent and beyond, who debate and recommend policy options on how governance in Africa can better support the continent’s structural transformation.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Ministry of Interior has announced the launch of a new online citizenship and business management platform.
In a statement by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs Magdalene Ajani, on Friday in Abuja, it was disclosed that the new digital platform was designed to streamline the application and processing of citizenship and business-related services, ensuring faster turnaround time and improved user experience.
According to the statement, the platform is aimed at managing citizenship applications, processing business permits, and administering regulations related to businesses, and foreign workers.
The permanent secretary explained further that the initiative was part of the ministry’s ongoing reforms aimed at promoting transparency, enhancing operational efficiency thereby significantly improving service delivery to the public.
Members of the public, corporate entities, and other stakeholders are hereby expected to access the platform through the following official channels: Ministry of Interior’s website: https://interior.gov.ng and for direct portal access: https://candb.interior.gov.ng, [email protected] for support or inquiries.
“The ministry remains committed to establishing a more efficient, transparent, and secure framework for citizenship administration, while continuously enhancing service delivery through digital transformation,” the statement concluded.
By Bon Peters
A leading petrochemicals and fertilizer production company in Rivers State, Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited, has reaffirmed its determination to always prioritise environmental preservation, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and other policies geared towards profitability.
The Managing Director of Indorama Nigeria and Executive Director at Indorama Africa, Mr Manish Mundra, gave this reassurance at a media parley to introduce the new Head of Corporate Communications of the organisation, Mr Bibiye Justice.
Mr Justice is taking over from Mr Jossy Nkwocha, who retires from the company from the end of May 2025 after 18 years in charge of the image-making of the company.
Mr Mundra, represented by the Chief Technical Officer of Indorama Nigeria, Mr Deepu Sivadas, praised Mr Nkwocha for demonstrating a high level of professionalism in his partnership with journalists, saying the synergy has positioned Indorama in the right perspective in terms of reportage of the company’s operations.
In his remarks, Mr Nkwocha commended the management of Indorama for giving him the opportunity to serve in the company and thanked journalists for their support.
“I have enjoyed tremendous support of journalists in the state in the past 18 years, and for this reason, I haven’t experienced any media crises.
“I want to thank you all for your cooperation and to announce that I’m about stepping down, by the end of this month, I shall be retiring and Mr Justice Bibiye will be stepping in my shoes.
“Bibiye is one of us, a thorough bred corporate communications personality, having served at NTA and AIT. I, therefore, urge you to avail him the same level of support,” he said.
On his part, Mr Justice commended newsmen for supporting his predecessor and contributing to the growth of the company.
“Indorama is critical national asset contributing significantly to the economy. The company is continuously creating jobs and assisting the government tackle food shortage through high quality fertilizers production for export and local demands,” he said.
The chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Rivers State, Mr Paul Bazia, while speaking, lauded the organisation for its achievements and pledged to sustain the cooperation.
Indorama, an 8,000 metric tons daily capacity fertilizer production company, is the largest single-train urea facility in the Sub-Saharan Africa with a legacy of excellence in fertilizer production.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Lagos State Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has called for calm over a viral video showing some young persons from Katsina State seen around Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos State.
In a statement on Friday, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Mr Benjamin Hundeyin, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), said residents of the metropolis have nothing to worry about because the persons seen in the visual were recruited to work at the Dangote Refinery.
According to him, the contractor responsible for their recruitment and the refinery’s Chief Security Officer (CSO) both confirmed the arrangement.
He stated that the labourers have been cleared to reside and work within the $20 billion oil facility after all necessary checks were conducted them.
“Upon receipt of the information on May 14, 2025, officers from the Command immediately deployed to the location to ascertain the facts.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the young men in question, 89 in number, had arrived from Katsina State and were recruited to work as labourers at the Dangote Refinery in Lekki.
“The contractor working with the refinery appeared before the police and confirmed that he had personally sourced and brought the labourers from Katsina for legitimate employment purposes.
“The individuals were thoroughly searched, and no incriminating items were found in their possession.
“Furthermore, each person properly identified themselves and presented their National Identification Numbers (NINs), which were duly verified,” Mr Hundeyin stated, assuring that, “The command remains committed to maintaining law and order across Lagos State and will continue to respond promptly to all matters relating to public safety.”
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