Abu Umar 

Nigeria has called on African countries to build a stronger, better-funded and self-reliant continental security system to confront the growing threat of terrorism and other emerging security challenges.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, made the appeal in Abuja, while addressing the Consultative Forum on Strengthening the Functional Performance of the African Union Peace and Security Architecture.

She said Africa must assume greater responsibility for safeguarding its peace and stability, particularly amid rising regional security threats, weaknesses in existing continental mechanisms and growing pressure on multilateral cooperation.

The minister raised the alarm over the spread of terrorism across Africa, noting that armed groups were adopting new technologies to advance their operations while relying on proceeds from transnational organised crime and illicit financial flows to fund their activities.

To address the threats, Odumegwu-Ojukwu urged African states to strengthen the Continental Early Warning System, expand African-led mediation efforts and reinforce the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). She also called for improved intelligence-sharing, stronger national peace structures and urgent action on local grievances and youth unemployment to build more resilient communities.

The Minister stressed the need for increased support for rehabilitation and reintegration programmes, and encouraged African countries to leverage on AU Counter-Terrorism Centre (AUTC) for the coordination of continental counter-terrorism efforts.

While speaking on the importance of complementarity between AU Peace Fund and international funding commitments, including those of the United Nations (UN), the Minister emphasized the need to institutionalise predictable financing for AU-led operations. 

She called for enhanced peace support operations through the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2719 as well as the full operationalisation of the African Standby Force (ASF) and

Regional Standby Forces.

Ambassador Odumegwu-Ojukwu expressed optimism that the two-

day Forum would engender practical and implementable recommendations required to strengthen Africa’s collective capacity to prevent conflicts, respond to emerging threats and promote sustainable peace and security.

The Consultative Forum is focused on four priorities: mediation and preventive diplomacy; early warning and response; counter-terrorism; and peace support operations. Nigeria expects it to produce practical recommendations that would improve security coordination on the African continent, enhance financing for peace and strengthen the capacity of African institutions to effectively

respond to Africa’s security challenges.

By Sam Otuonye 

Nigeria’s experience with economic reforms offers valuable lessons for African countries seeking sustainable growth, stronger regional trade and improved living standards, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has said.

Oyedele spoke at the Africa’s Golden Future Forum on Wednesday in Bangkok, Thailand, where he highlighted the importance of carefully sequencing reforms, communicating policy decisions consistently and building public trust.

He identified fuel subsidy removal, foreign exchange liberalisation and tax reform as major components of Nigeria’s economic reform programme, noting that the order in which policies are implemented can influence their impact on citizens and businesses.

According to him, removing the fuel subsidy before liberalising the foreign exchange market helped manage the effects of rising costs. He stressed that effective communication, strong institutions and consistent policies were essential to sustaining reforms and building public confidence.

Oyedele said Nigeria’s reforms were laying the groundwork for inclusive growth, job creation and economic expansion, adding that African countries must also address structural barriers that limit trade and investment across the continent.

He called for the removal of trade barriers, improved infrastructure and stronger regional integration to unlock the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The Minister said Nigeria was developing an economic policy framework to align trade, fiscal and monetary policies and improve coordination. He also identified energy, logistics, storage and processing infrastructure as critical to strengthening African trade and competitiveness.

He highlighted Nigeria’s National Single Window initiative, designed to simplify border procedures and improve trade efficiency.

Oyedele also stressed the need to protect vulnerable citizens from the effects of economic reforms through effective social protection measures.

He said Nigeria’s cash transfer programme had reached more than 10 million households, while over 1.5 million students had benefited from education support.

Also speaking, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Sidi Ould Tah, called for the practical implementation of reforms across Africa, stressing that policy commitments must translate into tangible results.

Ould Tah said the bank had supported reforms in Nigeria and Egypt through budget support and was working with development partners to expand electricity access across the continent.

He cited Mission 300, an initiative launched with the World Bank and other partners to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030, as an example of the scale of cooperation required to address Africa’s infrastructure gaps.

According to him, more than 30 African countries had signed energy compacts requiring coordinated reforms, infrastructure investment and private sector participation to expand electricity access.

The AfDB President noted that intra-African trade accounted for about 15 per cent of the continent’s total trade, compared with 40 per cent and 60 per cent in other regions.

He said the bank devoted more than 60 per cent of its financing to infrastructure, including regional projects aimed at improving connectivity and promoting continental integration.

Ould Tah added that the African Development Fund’s regional financing mechanism could cover up to 90 per cent of eligible regional projects involving more than two African countries, helping to address financing gaps that often hinder cross-border infrastructure development.

… unveils pension week with essay competition, MSME Fair, others

By Sam Otuonye 

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has said it recovered N36.6 billion from defaulting employers as at June 2026, breaking every record in the history of the scheme, noting that this year (2026) it has surpassed of last year.

The disclosure was made by the Director- General (DG) of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, in her keynote speech at the 2026 Annual Media Conference on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in Abuja.

The DG stated that the Commission has made several progress within two years of her administration with the evolution of PenCare, the free healthcare window for low income retirees on as low as N30,000, the blossoming infrastructure investment, minimum pension guarantee, clearance of backlog of arrears, and exit package that started January 2026.

Oloworaran noted that the bottleneck of delayed pension payment and remittance of pension contribution by employers have drastically reduced as monitoring and enforcement have improved and more states and institutions being enrolled. She said two more states have been onboarded.

The DG revealed the unveiling of 2026 National Pension Week to run from October 26 to 30, with the theme: Pension For All: Building a Secure Future, highlighting the bouquet of events to include; youth engagement day, for secondary, tertiary and youth corps members, with essay competition and handsome rewards for winners.

On day two, she said it is for National MSMEs Fair, to showcase trades and crafts, by entreprenueurs, business owners who would be given free booths for exhibition.

Day three and four would be for Senior Citizens Day and National Pension Summit for professionals, while day five would feature Press Day, where outcomes and communique would be shared.

The conference, with the theme: From Reform to Reality: Renewed Hope Pension Security for Nigerians, brought together pensioners, the media, pension fund administrators, pension union (PenOp), and other stakeholders.