The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas has recommended a special African parliamentary forum to ensure natural resources are harnessed responsibly to serve and empower the Africa people.
He made the recommendation on Wednesday at the opening of the 8th Conference of Network of African Parliamentarians for Defence and Security Committees (REPAM-CDS) in Abuja.
The conference is titled “Security Governace of Natural Resources in Africa: Parliamentarians Confronted with New International Security Dynamics.”
He said that the parliamentary special forum will monitor regions with resource conflicts, collaborate with regional legislative bodies to collect data, recommend safeguards, and support community-led development initiatives.
According to him, illicit mining, opaque oil contracts and unregulated timber corridors generate revenue streams that arm insurgents, corrupt institutions and deny communities the dividends of growth.
“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.
In his remarks, the Chairman, House Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Rep. Ahmed Satomi (APC-Borno) said that parliamentarians play crucial roles in ensuring effective oversight, transparency, and accountability in the management of natural resources and security forces.
Satomi said that through legislative instruments, lawmakers should ensure sustainable and credible governance processes for natural resources born out of the specific circumstances taking place on the local stage and broader agenda for governance across the globe.
The Deputy Speaker of The Gambian Parliament, Mr Seedy Njie said that security matters concerns every stakeholders saying members of parliament wants the citizens of Africa to live in peace and harmony.
He tasked security chiefs across the continent on protection of territorial integrity and sovereignty of African nations.
“I urged all service chiefs in Nigeria and beyond to work tirelessly to ensure that our people live in peace and harmony.
“The issue of fear, terrorism, bandits and arm rubbery is becoming common in the sub Saharan Africa and we need to do whatever it takes us to take our responsibility seriously and defend our territorial integrity and sovereignty of our nations,” he said.
He assured the parliamentarians were willing to work with the Federal Government in the advancement of the social-economic wellbeing of Africa.
Also speaking, the National Security Adviser (NSA) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu said that the competition for resources had led to conflicts between communities, herders, and farmers, exacerbating existing tensions in several countries.
Represented by the Director Defence Affairs, Maj.-Gen. Peter Malla (rtd) Ribadu said that the mismanagement of natural resources had led to economic instability, corruption, and poverty.
According to him, the extraction of natural resources has also posed security threats, including terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping.
