The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has called for establishing a special African parliamentary forum to champion the responsible harnessing of the continent’s natural resources for the benefit of Africans.
Abbas called on Wednesday at the opening of the 8th Conference of the Network of African Parliamentarians for Defence and Security Committees (REPAM-CDS) in Abuja.
He said the parliamentary special forum would monitor regions with resource conflicts, collaborate with regional legislative bodies to collect data, recommend safeguards, and support community-led development initiatives.
The speaker said the struggle for peace is also a struggle for responsible stewardship of Africa’s natural endowments, adding that illicit mining, opaque oil contracts and unregulated timber corridors generate revenue streams that arm insurgents, corrupt institutions, and deny communities the dividends of growth.
“Where resource governance is weak, violence takes root; where it is transparent and accountable, prosperity and stability follow.
Nigeria’s recent reforms illustrate the point. I recommend that our parliaments form a special forum to monitor regions with resource conflicts.
“Let us unite with unwavering resolve to strengthen our committees and harness our natural resources responsibly, ensuring they serve and empower our people,” he said.
Abbas called for a continent-wide agreement on digital sovereignty to help countries protect their cyberspace and financial systems without infringing on civil rights.
He said Africans are watching their parliamentarians and want them to turn debates into real action, match words with results, and protect democracy, dignity, and our shared heritage.
In his remarks, the chairman of the House Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Hon. Ahmed Satomi (APC-Borno), said parliamentarians play crucial roles in ensuring effective oversight, transparency, and accountability in managing natural resources and security forces.
Satomi said that lawmakers should ensure sustainable and credible governance processes for natural resources through legislative instruments based on the specific circumstances on the local stage and a broader agenda for governance worldwide.
“We must work together to develop durable and people-centred security solutions, aligning constitutional provisions with evolving threats and realities. I am delighted that the fundamental objectives of our Network have firmly and strategically positioned us to undertake these responsibilities.
“Let us therefore work together to address these pressing security challenges and ensure that our natural resources contribute to the prosperity and stability of our great continent,” he said.
The Deputy Speaker of the Gambian Parliament, Mr Seedy Njie, tasked security chiefs across the continent with protecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of African nations.
“I urged all service chiefs in Nigeria and beyond to work tirelessly to ensure our people live in peace and harmony. The issue of fear, terrorism, bandits, and armed robbery is becoming common in sub-Saharan Africa, and we need to do whatever it takes to take our responsibility seriously and defend our territorial integrity and sovereignty of our nations,” he said.
Also, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, said the competition for resources had led to conflicts between communities, herders, and farmers, exacerbating tensions in several countries.
Represented by the Director of Defence Affairs, Maj.-Gen. Peter Malla (rtd), Ribadu said the natural resource mismanagement led to economic instability, corruption, and poverty.
“We must come together to address the challenges we face. We need a comprehensive approach that includes sharing intelligence and coordinating efforts to prevent and counter security threats related to natural resource extraction.
“We need to secure our borders to prevent the smuggling of goods and the movement of terrorists and bandits. We need to leverage technology to detect and neutralise threats before they materialise and engage with local communities to raise awareness and prevent radicalisation that fuels terrorism,” he said.
