The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, on Friday, met with President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, to debrief him on efforts to restore constitutional rule in some West African countries that recently fell to military rule.

She called for a return to constitutional rule in the affected nations—Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.

The civilian governments in Burkina Faso and Mali and Niger fell to military control in May 2021, September 2022 and July 2023, respectively.

Consequently, the Economic Community of West African States announced economic sanctions that isolated the three states alongside Guinea, where the military took over in September 2021.

However, some of these sanctions were relaxed in February 2024.

On July 6, Niger’s General Abdourahmane Tchiani, Burkina Faso’s Captain Ibrahim Traore, and Mali’s Colonel Assimi Goita signed a confederation treaty which, they said, would strengthen a mutual defence pact announced last September, the Alliance of Sahel States.

After the meeting, Mohammed told journalists that aside from debriefing the President on the proposals he had earlier made to keep the dialogue going forward as the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority, they also evaluated emerging challenges.

She added that they also considered the possibility of engendering economic development for the countries so citizens do not suffer.

“My visit here was to see Mr. President and to give him a debrief on the visit of myself and delegation within West Africa, Senegal, Guinea Conakry, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

“We also went to Ethiopia on a finance mission. We were able to debrief on the proposals that he had made to try to keep the dialogue going for some of the states that we have challenges with.

“But at the same time, we also looked for the possibilities to include more economic development so that the people don’t suffer at the same time,” the former Nigerian environment minister stated.

However, she clarified that the UN is not negotiating on behalf of ECOWAS but is only supporting the subregion.

Asked whether the global body was negotiating on behalf of the bloc, she said: “Absolutely not! The UN does not negotiate on behalf of ECOWAS; what it does is to support the leadership of ECOWAS, and that’s why we came here to debrief the President.”

On the UN’s communication with the countries, the DSG said: “Well, what we are telling these countries is that a number of them have a crisis. They have unconstitutional changes, and what they must do is come back to a transition and a process of democracy.

“On the other hand, they have to look also at the development paradigm for their people there is terrorism. But there’s also a need to look at jobs, food security, and energy. All those also have to continue.

“Now, if they can display a roadmap that gives everyone some confidence that there is a return to democratic rule, then they will find the support. I believe that in ECOWAS, we are a family. Regional Integration is at the heart of it. It is what these countries have said. And the proposal by ECOWAS in its last meeting to have President Faye of Senegal and President Faure of Togo to continue that dialogue and engagement is a good one.”

Mohammed said the countries concerned “feel that they have not had the same support of ECOWAS that they envisaged and a lack of understanding that in some cases.”

Nonetheless, they resolved to forge ahead with their Alliance of Sahel States, stating their priorities.

She enumerated those priorities: “First was security and the fight against terrorism. The second was investments they were looking for in certain areas like food security and job creation for their young people.”

President Bola Tinubu has sacked Sani Auwalu Balarabe from his position as HoD, Chief of the Intercountry Centre for Oral Health for Africa, ICOH, over an alleged embezzlement of N1.4 billion during his tenure.

As far as one could gather from the People’s Gazette, the appointment of Balarabe was terminated on the 18th of July, following a spate of petitions that related to financial misconduct and investigations. The president appointed one Taiwo Olaniyi to replace him.

In January, several petitions were sent to the House of Assembly, EFCC, Ministry of Health, and other government agencies to investigate activities of Balarabe at ICOH. The petitions leveled accusations against Balarabe, saying that he had not conducted any research despite the institute receiving huge budgetary allocations, which is its core mandate.

One of the petitions dated January 16 had this: “Despite all these budgetary allocations, the centre has not produced a single oral health research project, which is its core mandate and the reason for its establishment.

It further brought to the fore that projects initiated under Balarabe’s administration, such as the construction of a remodeled dental clinic and administration block and the procurement of project vehicles, costing over N700 million, were never completed.

The petitions also accused him of backdating the appointment letters for new staff and paying them arrears of their salary, with such money to be returned to a particular account. These funds are said to have been applied toward some expenses at ICOH.

The sacking of Balarabe clearly typified President Tinubu’s commitment to corruption fighting and making those in charge of public institutions accountable.

The Nigerian police has finally approved the planned nationwide protests and outlined conditions for participants.

The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, revealed this on Friday while addressing journalists in Abuja.

He urged all groups planning to participate in the proposed nationwide protest to submit their details to the Commissioners of Police in their respective states.

The police boss said this was to ensure the protest was peaceful.

Egbetokun said, “We acknowledge the constitutional right of Nigerian citizens to peaceful assembly and protest.

“However, in the interest of public safety and order, we urge all groups planning to protest to provide necessary details to the Commissioner of Police in the state where the protest is intended to take place.

“To facilitate a successful and incident-free protest, they should please provide the following information: state the proposed protest routes and assembly points; expected duration of the protest; and names and contact details of protest leaders and organisers.”

The police boss said the information expected from the organisers also include measures to prevent hijacking by criminal elements, as well as key identifiers for possible isolation of potential troublemakers.

By providing the information, he said, the police will be able to deploy adequate personnel and resources to ensure public safety.

He said the police needed to know the specific routes and areas for the protest to avoid conflicts with other events or activities.

Mr Egbetokun said the police will “establish clear communication channels with protest leaders to address any concerns or issues that may arise; minimise the risk of violence, property damage, or other criminal activity.

“We encourage all protesters to cooperate with the police, obey the law, and adhere to global best practices for peaceful assembly to guarantee a safe and successful exercise of their rights.