Nigeria rejects move to split AU’s department of political affairs
Nigeria’s government has rejected the proposal to create a new department out of the African Union’s existing Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security.
It argued that creating another department from the existing one will destabilise the AU political affairs and peace and security process, adding that issues that were not brought to the attention of Member States should not be part of the reform.
“We do not support the proposal to reconfigure the Department of Political Affairs Peace and Security as the reconfiguration of the PAPS Department in the way currently suggested will only lead us to incur more expenditure needlessly,” President Bola Tinubu said in his statement at the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government, which ended Sunday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The proposal comes just days after the re-election of Nigerian diplomat, Mr. Bankole Adeoye as head of the department for another term at the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government, which ended Sunday.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, had delivered the address on the President’s behalf, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, revealed in a statement he signed Sunday.
The statement is titled, ‘Nigeria Opposes Move To Split AU’s Department Of Political Affairs, Peace And Security.’
During the consideration and deliberation on the AU reforms report, President Tinubu commended his Rwanda and Kenya counterparts, Paul Kagame and William Ruto, respectively, for the reform proposals.
He acknowledged the recommendations outlined in the draft decision on the AU reform, saying 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.
The President backed the move to reform the African Union, making the continental body more vibrant, viable, and relevant to the needs of member states in the face of rapidly changing global political and economic realities. He also endorsed the proposal that the agenda of the AU Summit feature no more than three strategic items.
However, he rejected the proposal to create a new department out of the existing Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security—a department which Adeoye heads.
In the intervention, Tinubu said, “We already have a SOD under the Directorate of PAPS. We cannot have a Peace Support Operations Directorate independent of the Directorate of Political Affairs, Peace and Security.”
“We believe any attempt to create another department from the existing one will destabilise the AU political affairs and peace and security process. It is also important that issues that were never brought to the attention of Member States are not part of the reform,” President Tinubu added.
On the need for inclusiveness and transparency as an integral part of the reform of the AU system, President Tinubu noted that the continental organisation should instead focus on implementing adopted policies and programmes.
“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.
“There is no harm in carrying out reform in phases. It would be an error to continue seeking consultation on all fronts in perpetuity,” President Tinubu emphasised.
He argued that Nigeria would continue to support the reform process as long as it remained transparent and inclusive and did not needlessly destabilise the status quo.
