President Bola Tinubu has stated that Nigeria is prepared to host the African Central Bank following the Abuja Treaty’s vision.
The treaty lays the groundwork for the creation of an African Common Market.
It was adopted on June 3, 1991, and went into effect on May 12, 1994.
Tinubu addressed the African Union‘s (AU) assembly of heads of state and government during its 37th ordinary session in Ethiopia on Saturday.
He stated that his administration will work with the AU Commission and member states to ensure that the bank begins operations on time in 2028.
Tinubu stated that Africa’s success in addressing its challenges is dependent on the firmness of its resolution. This, he said is based on deep-rooted solidarity, to avoid perpetuating existing problems and creating new ones.
Tinubu claimed that the continent’s growth has been hampered by the cancers of coup-born autocracies and harmful tinkering with constitutional tenure clauses.
The president said:
“As a continent and as individual nations, we face strong headwinds and difficult hurdles threatening to complicate our mission to bring qualitative democratic governance and economic development to our people.”
“Many of these obstacles, such as climate change and unfair patterns of global trade, are largely not of our making.
“However, some of the pitfalls, including coup-birthed autocracies and the deleterious tinkering with constitutional tenure provisions, are developmental cancers we as Africans are giving to ourselves.”
Regarding the military coups in Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, Tinubu emphasised the importance of regional solidarity within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
He stated that disagreements over unconstitutional changes in government should not result in a permanent rupture of the long-standing bonds of regional affinity and cooperation.
“The drive for a peaceful, strong, and united West Africa is bigger than any one person or group of people.
”The bonds of history, culture, commerce, geography, and brotherhood hold deep meaning for our people. Thus, out of the dust and fog of misunderstanding and acrimony, we must seize the chance to create a new people-centric era of trust and accord.
“To all who care to listen, I declare that if you come to the table to discuss important matters in good faith, you will find Nigeria and ECOWAS already sitting there waiting to greet you as the brother that you are.”
Source: TheCable