By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria is set to validate a technical committee report geared towards transitioning the country from observer status to full membership of the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) in April.

Mr Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, said this when the council’s mission visited him over the weekend in Abuja, noting that the ministry had constituted a technical committee to consider how the country would seamlessly transit from observer country to membership in CPOPC based on its strategic importance in palm oil production.

“We are conscious of the fact that the palm oil value chain is very strategic for us and identified it as an export crop that can drive foreign exchange for the country and ensure good health in terms of consumption.

“We are conscious of the fact that we need the support of CPOPC countries to provide the country with a new variety of seeds that are climate-smart and resistant so that they can be produced by farmers in the country,” he said.

Mr Alphonsus Inyang, President, National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN), said being a member of CPOPC Nigeria would target over 10 million tonnes of oil palm between 2026 and 2050.

“We are also targeting 2.5 million hectares from among Nigeria households who are out to produce one hectare each, geared towards a N20 trillion annual economy within this period from among Nigeria households.

“We are working side by side with the big players who will be developing plantations,” he said.

The Secretary-General of CPOPC, Ms Izzana Salleh, said the council’s mission to Nigeria was to see how the country could transit from observer status to full membership, among others

She said that the status of the country as an observer nation since 2024 would expire by November.

Ms Salleh assured the country of the council’s readiness to support its vision to strengthen domestic production, enhance food security and build a competitive and sustainable palm oil supply chain.

The official emphasised that being a member of the council would strategically position Nigeria for a greater future regarding oil palm production.

According to her, the visit is to strengthen the council’s engagement with Nigeria, including potential membership in CPOPC.

She said: “The council’s mission to Nigeria aims to advance both Nigeria’s national ambitions and Africa’s collective voice in global agricultural discussions.

“CPOPC was established to promote cooperation among producing nations, empower smallholders, advance sustainability, and ensure fair, science-based global dialogue on vegetable oils.

She emphasised that being a member of the council would strategically position the country for greater future prospects regarding oil palm production and the value chain, as well as export.

“We are ready to support Nigeria’s vision to strengthen domestic production, enhance food security, and build a competitive and sustainable palm oil supply chain,” she said.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The ward congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oluyole Local Government Area of Oyo State on Saturday left several party members injured after a violence clash erupted.

According to reports, one of the injured persons was Mr Idowu Oyawale, who served as the campaign Director General of a House of Representatives member in the last general elections, Ms Tolulope Akande-Sadipe.

It was disclosed that he sustained severe injuries during the exercise and is currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.

The ward congress was organised by the ruling party to elect ward executives across the local government’s wards.

However, it was disrupted at Olomi Ward 7 by suspected heavily-armed political thugs allegedly linked to a member of the party.

It was claimed that the thugs invaded the congress venue at Olomi Basic School 1, dispersing party members and officials supervising the exercise, with stones, clubs and other weapons.

Eyewitnesses said tensions escalated unprovoked over delegates’ lists and ward executive positions. The disagreement reportedly degenerated into physical altercations before the violent attacks on some party members.

It was learnt that security operatives led a tactical team to restore order, peace, and disperse the attackers.

Reacting to the incident, some party leaders and elders condemned the violence, describing it as unfortunate and capable of undermining the credibility of the internal democratic process.

The leaders have called on party chieftains and President Bola Tinubu to immediately order an investigation into the violent attacks.

By Princess Yanney

One message stood out; one particular briefing gave clarity and hope for better days ahead. Africa will be heard; willingly or unwillingly, and the resolution thereof will no longer be a hope for years to come, but a reality to actualise. At a press conference during the  39th AU Summit  in Addis Ababa, Ghana’s President  John Dramani Mahama urged African leaders to adopt a common continental strategy on the legacy of slavery and racialised chattel enslavement, which he described as “the gravest crime against humanity.”

In this context, one must understand; Reparations matter because colonialism was not simply an episode of foreign rule. It was an economic system. African land was seized, labour was coerced, institutions were reshaped to serve external interests, and entire economies were redesigned around the export of raw materials.

Long before independence, the transatlantic slave trade had already stripped the continent of people, skills and social stability, creating permanent demographic and developmental damage. Colonial rule then consolidated this destruction into a durable global structure of inequality.

President Mahama explained that Ghana’s proposed AU resolution, which received broad support from member states, was carefully drafted with extensive consultations involving the AU Committee of Experts on Reparations, legal experts, academic institutions and diaspora organisations. He said the resolution’s wording was deliberately chosen to reflect historical accuracy, legal credibility, and moral clarity.

“Ghana has undertaken extensive consultations to strengthen the resolution. We’ve engaged with UNESCO, the Global Group of Experts on Reparations, the Pan-African Lawyers Union, academic institutions, the African Union Committee of Experts on Reparations and the African Union Legal Experts Reference Group. We hosted the inaugural joint meeting of the African Union Committee of Experts on Reparations and the African Union Legal Experts Reference Group in Accra earlier this month to further refine the text of the resolution. We also began engagement with the diaspora at the Ghana Diaspora Summit held in December last year.”

Hence, come March 25, the resolution will be presented by one man, who will echo the voice of millions of African people and people of African descent. Because truly, a united Africa demanding reparations is not an Africa asking to be included in an unequal system, but rather, an Africa asserting its right to help redesign it. President Mahama stressed that the initiative goes beyond symbolism, providing a legal and moral foundation for reparatory justice and sustained engagement with the global community. The resolution is designed to facilitate dialogue with the United Nations and international partners while affirming Africa’s demand for recognition and accountability for centuries of exploitation and injustice.

“Informal consultations on the draft text are expected to take place between 23rd February and 12th March 2026. Our objective is simple: to build a broad consensus behind this resolution. The initiative is not directed at any nation; it is directed towards truth, recognition and reconciliation.”

He reiterated. Truth is, a united Africa is a strong global force that cannot be stopped or interrupted. But a divided Africa is an Africa liable to imperialism and Western domination. It is therefore a priority for all African people to join hands and stand together to ensure the aims of these resolutions are achieved.

“We call upon all member states to support and co-sponsor this resolution. The adoption of this resolution will not erase history, but it will acknowledge it. The trafficking in enslaved Africans and racialised chattel enslavement were foundational crimes that have shaped the modern world, and their consequences continue to manifest in structural inequality, racial discrimination and economic disparity.

Recognition is not about division; it is about moral courage. Adoption of the resolution will not be the end. Following the adoption, Ghana will continue engagement with the United Nations Secretary General, the African Union Commission, relevant UN bodies and interested member states,” said John Dramani Mahama as he called for unity.

The importance of today’s reparations consensus lies in its recognition that Africa’s underdevelopment is not an internal failure to be corrected through aid, reforms or external advice. It is the historical and continuing outcome of dispossession. Reparations, therefore, respond to a concrete injury, not an abstract moral wrong. Again, Reparations matter because colonialism was not simply an episode of foreign rule. It was an economic system. African land was seized, labour was coerced, institutions were reshaped to serve external interests, and entire economies were redesigned around the export of raw materials.

Long before independence, the transatlantic slave trade had already stripped the continent of people, skills and social stability, creating permanent demographic and developmental damage. Colonial rule then consolidated this destruction into a durable global structure of inequality. Which is why today’s fight, today’s struggle, is of utmost importance. It is a correction of a historical inhumane error. One that has to be amended and corrected, beginning with recognition.

“This is about a sustained dialogue on reparatory justice and healing. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, this initiative presents us with a historic opportunity, an opportunity to affirm the truth of our history, an opportunity to recognise the gravest injustice in human history, and an opportunity to lay a stronger foundation for genuine reconciliation and equality. While the past cannot be undone, it can be acknowledged, and acknowledgement is the first step towards justice.” – John Dramani Mahama expressed to the media and all who were gathered to witness the briefing under the theme, “Ancestral Debt, Modern Justice: Africa’s United Case For Reparations”.