Captain Ibrahim Traore has been appointed as the president of Burkina Faso, according to an official statement, after the country’s second coup in less than nine months.
Traore has been appointed as “Head of State, Supreme Head of the Armed Forces”, according to Wednesday’s official statement read out on national TV by spokesperson Captain Kiswendsida Farouk Azaria Sorgho.
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On Tuesday, Traore said he will respect a democratic transition timeline agreed upon between his predecessor and the West Africa regional bloc.
The comments followed a meeting with an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) delegation sent to meet the junta that took power last week in the second coup to hit the West African country this year.
Traore said Burkina Faso would “respect the dynamic compromise” agreed with ECOWAS in July to restore constitutional order in 24 months.
He also said the country would honour its international commitments, particularly regarding the protection of human rights, and would collaborate with ECOWAS evaluation mechanisms.
The ECOWAS mediator who headed the delegation, former Niger president Mahamadou Issoufou, on Tuesday said he was satisfied with the exchanges.
Coup and countercoup
Traore led the coup that ousted military leader Paul-Henri Damiba, who had seized power in a previous coup in January and promised ECOWAS to restore civilian rule by July 2024.
Both takeovers were spurred by frustrations over growing insecurity caused by a rampant militant insurgency that began in neighbouring Mali in 2012 and spread to other countries south of the Sahara Desert.
Thousands have been killed in raids on rural communities and millions have been forced to flee.
Days before the coup unfolded, 27 soldiers and 10 civilians were killed in an attack on a supply convoy in northern Burkina Faso, the army said in an updated assessment of the aftermath on Wednesday.
It added that 29 people had been injured — mainly soldiers — and three people were still missing. An Al Qaeda branch claimed the attack.
Source: AFP
My Economics Reforms Will Improve Ease Of Doing Business – Tinubu
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu assured investors that his reforms will remove impediments to conducive business operations in Nigeria.
Tinubu disclosed this in a meeting on Wednesday when he received Mr Ade Adeola, Managing Director of Energy and Natural Resources in Europe, Africa and the Middle East for Standard Chartered Bank.
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He added his reforms would improve efficiency in business start-up and administration including tax reviews and improved security.
Attracting investments
President Tinubu noted his administration is working towards attracting investments, he said:
“We are committed to strengthening partnerships, encouraging efficiency and creating a suitable environment for investors.
“We are already working hard on security. We will improve efficiency across the board for good input and output and we will build a very friendly environment for growth and investments,’’ he said.
He also added that tax reforms were being undertaken with close adherence to global best practices that would favour businesses for the collective prosperity of the nation, citing that Nigeria is open for business.
“We believe in partnership, and we will work with all those interested in the progress of Nigeria,’’ the president said.
Adeola said Standard Chartered Bank is committed to enabling investments in Nigeria with a special focus on energy and natural resources and a huge portfolio in funding for the oil and gas industry, he also noted that the bank supports investments of about two to three billion US dollars annually, adding:
“We are very excited about your leadership and we want to restate our commitment to the growth of Nigeria,’’.
New economic Ministers
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday appointed the former Commissioner of Finance in Lagos State, Wale Edun, as the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.
Edun, who was a Presidential Adviser on Monetary Policies, was part of the first batch of the 28-man ministerial list that was sent to the Senate by President Bola Tinubu.
Wale Edun’s background
Wale Edun has career experience that spans merchant banking, corporate finance, economics and international finance at national and international levels. He is an economist, with both first and Master’s Degrees in Economics, from the University of London and the University of Sussex, England.
Edun worked at Chase Merchant Bank as the Head of Treasury and then as Deputy Head of Corporate Finance. These positions put him in charge of the bank’s Treasury and Money Market activities.
He was responsible for the Capital Market and Financial Advisory operations and had to represent several local subsidiaries and affiliates of major multinational companies.