President Muhammadu Buhari has called on African Union (AU) member countries to strengthen early warning systems to rein in conflicts in the continent.
The president also urged all AU member states to ratify the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.
Nigerian positions and interventions on these issues were conveyed by the president during separate meetings at the ongoing 36th AU summit in Addis Ababa, Ababa.
According to a statement by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, the summit, which is meeting under theme “Acceleration of the African Continent Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation”, was a key opportunity for the Nigerian delegation, led by President Buhari, to emphasize that it has fully embraced the spirit of the AfCFTA, having signed, ratified and deposited the instrument at the African Union Commission.
In this light, President Buhari urged all member states, AUC and the secretariat of AfCFTA to continue supporting the implementation of the AfCFTA agreement.
He also called on member states that have not yet ratified the agreement to do so.
At the high-level side event on “Early Warning Within the Framework of the African Union Peace and Security Council and the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services in Africa (CISSA),’’ hosted by President Teodoro Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, President Buhari noted that ‘‘timely information sharing is vital to successful early warning and response processes.’’
The president, who was represented by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major-General Babagana Monguno (retd), warned that when member states deny credible early warning signals of impending crisis, they miss opportunities to address conflict situations before they escalate.
He, therefore, urged member states to cooperate more with the African Union Commission (AUC), Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Regional Mechanisms (RMs) and other relevant partners.
