OLU IBEKWE

Nigeria’s five member delegation to the ongoing Sixth Ordinary Session of the Fourth Parliament of the Pan African Parliament (PAP) is yet to show up six days after the opening Session on Monday May 7, 2018. The only Nigerian parliamentarian that was seen around PAP premises was there to renew his African Union (AU) diplomatic passport at the Office of the Clerk of the Parliament. This indeed leaves much to be desired for a country that prides itself as the giant of Africa. The Pan African Parliament is the legislative arm and one of AU’s eleven organs with a purpose of representing the African people as set forth in Article 17 of the AU Constitutive Act “to ensure the full participation of African peoples in the development and economic integration of the continent.” It has up to 275 members representing 55 AU member States. There are eleven Permanent Committees and five Regional Caucuses all of which discuss thematic issues and adopt their Rules of Procedure. One of its objec...

History was made yesterday May 10, 2018 when parliamentarians of the Parliament Pan African Parliament (PAP) overwhelmingly re-elected His Excellency, Hon. Roger Nkodo Dang of Cameroon as its fifth President. He secured 133 votes to defeat his closest rival Senator Fortune Charumbira of Zimbabwe who secured 47 votes and Hon. Moustafa El Gendy of Egypt who secured 44 votes. The election was transparently conducted as the defeated candidates quickly congratulated the winner. Hon. Nkodo who had earlier served as the Parliament’s First Vice President, was elected President in May, 2015 for a three year term which expired this month. His historic re-election marked the first time that the occupier of the office had sought re-election. As required by the Rules of Procedure of the PAP, Hon. Nkodo was immediately sworn in to begin a new three year tenure. In his speech after the election, Hon. Nkodo thanked both Senator Charumbira and Hon. El Gendy for the manner they conducted the...

The Sixth Ordinary Session of the Fourth Parliament of the Pan African Parliament (PAP) kicked off today May 7, 2018 in Midrand, Republic of South Africa with the swearing in of seventy one African Parliamentarians as new members of the Parliament. In his opening remarks, PAP President His Excellency Roger Nkodo Dang welcomed the newly sworn in parliamentarians noting that the theme of this session is “Winning the Fight Against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation” For the first time, a five member delegation from Morocco was sworn in, marking the admission of that country into the continental parliamentary body. Among those sworn in today (as part of the South African Parliament delegation) are Hon. Julius Maleme, leader of the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters and Hon. Mandlesizwe Mandela. Julius Maleme’s swearing generated some applause given his role as leader of the Opposition at the South African Parliament. It is believed that his presence at ...

According to the 2018 Africa Investment Index (AII) of Quantum Global’s independent research arm, Quantum Global Research Lab, North African countries dominated the attractive investment destinations on the continent, with Morocco ranking first in Africa. Egypt and Algeria took up the second and third spots respectively. The index was released on March 26 on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. It was compiled by measuring six major factors – growth, liquidity, risk, business environment, demography and social capital—to paint a picture of the investment attractiveness of countries in the medium term. “What has propelled Morocco to the top position of the All is mainly the size of its economy, its very favourable business climate and the management of macroeconomic risks that it has made its own. “In spite of the improvements to oil production and prices, African economies are turning their attention towards diversification to...

A free trade agreement was signed this Wednesday, March 21 between forty-four African countries. A Continental Free Trade Area (Zlec) has therefore been created. For the African Union, this agreement is essential for the economic development of the continent. Moussa Faki, chairman of the AU Commission said, in conclusion of a summit of the organization in the Rwandan capital ” The agreement establishing the Zlec was signed by 44 countries “. One of the most powerful economies, Nigeria, abstained in the signing of this agreement. To give more time for consultations in his country, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari decided not to go to Kigali. In Nigeria, there is some opposition to this agreement. In addition to Nigeria, there are Eritrea, Burundi, Namibia and Sierra Leone. Protectionist countries, like Algeria, signed the agreement. The African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat who disclosed the number of signatories to the African Continental Fr...

On the occasion of International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrated this March 8 around the world, several voices are rising to claim better places for women. In most countries, it is difficult to find a parity. But in Africa , there is one exception: Rwanda. With more than 61% of women in the Chamber of Deputies, the country is at the top of the world rankings. A country that remains a model in several fields. But in the case of women’s representation in the Assembly, it is a reference case. While they already had a respectable place in some key institutions, women saw their numbers increase in recent elections in 2013.  Of the 80 seats in the Rwandan Parliament, 51 are occupied by women. Since 2008, Rwanda has been at the top of the IPU (Interparliamentary Union) world ranking of women in national parliaments. An important place reserved for women which is the fruit of several initiatives taken for decades. After the 1994 genocide that killed 800,000 people , s...

• Thuli Madonsela: It was expected that the public protector would remain a harmless chapter 9 institution without speaking truth to power. Madonsela changed that, and delivered the reports that probed Zuma’s Nkandla pile and the capture of the state-owned enterprises under his leadership. It set the tone for some of the most damaging court findings against Zuma and the executive. • Mogoeng Mogoeng: When Zuma appointed Mogoeng as leader of the judiciary, there were fears that the chief justice was too conservative and would be a lapdog of the president — as he was depicted in a Zapiro cartoon. Under Mogoeng’s leadership the judiciary has stayed fiercely independent, and made landmark judgments in terms of keeping the executive on its toes. It was Mogoeng who wrote and delivered the unanimous 2016 judgment in which the constitutional court found that Zuma had failed to “uphold, respect and protect” the constitution in the way he dealt with the public protector’s State of Captu...