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NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BACKS AFRICAN UNION REFORMS, REJECTS PROPOSED SPLIT OF AU’S DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL AFFAIRS, PEACE AND SECURITY

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  Nicolas Adekeye / 3 weeks
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• 2 min read

The Nigerian government has thrown its weight behind the move to reform the African Union (AU), making the continental body more vibrant, viable, and relevant to the needs of member states. President Bola Tinubu, whose statement was delivered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, commended his Rwanda and Kenya counterparts, Paul Kagame and William Ruto, for the reform proposals. The Special Adviser to the President, Bayo Onanuga, stated that President Tinubu acknowledged the recommendations outlined in the draft decision on the AU reform and said the Nigerian government supports the proposal to establish a Heads of State and Government oversight Committee for the AU Reforms under President Ruto’s leadership. Onanuga added that the Nigerian government also endorsed the proposal that the agenda of the AU Summit feature no more than three strategic items. President Tinubu, however, rejected the proposal to create a new department out of the existing Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, citing unnecessary expenditure and potential destabilization of the AU’s political affairs and peace and security process. “We do not support the proposal to reconfigure the Department of Political Affairs Peace and Security (PAPS) as the reconfiguration of the PAPS Department in the way currently suggested will only lead us to incur more expenditure needlessly,” President Tinubu said. Onanuga stated that President Tinubu emphasized the need for inclusiveness and transparency as an integral part of the reform of the AU system. “It is in this connection that Nigeria wishes to reiterate that instead of seeking to reach consensus on all fronts of our reform at one sweep, we should concentrate on areas where we have already reached consensus,” President Tinubu said. Onanuga noted that President Tinubu also said Nigeria would continue to support the reform process as long as it remained transparent and inclusive and did not needlessly destabilize the status quo. Bayo Onanuga stated that this position was reiterated in a statement on February 16, 2025.