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Niger: Foreigners’ safety would be at risk should ECOWAS employ military force – Seidu Abudu
President of the Ghanaian community in Niger, Seidu Abudu, has revealed that any plans ECOWAS has of using military intervention to address the crisis in the country may pose a risk to foreigners.
Speaking on PM Express on JoyNews, he stated that there has been a widely shared video in Niger where some people are threatening to attack foreigners should the regional bloc approve of a military force in its attempt to restore constitutional rule.
Mr Abudu noted that he does not believe that ECOWAS will use military force, putting the lives of their citizens at risk. “All the ECOWAS countries have foreigners here, so if they use force, what about their citizens here? It is going to be a problem, it is not going to help at all.
We foreigners who are living here already, we have seen one video, they said that if ECOWAS makes any one move, they are going to attack foreigners and that one is for sure,” he noted.
Mr Abudu added that “so, they (ECOWAS) have to be very careful about the move they want to make because they are going to attack foreigners in this country.
They are not going to allow foreigners to live in this country as ECOWAS is going to use force, so they have to be very careful.
” This follows the West African regional bloc’s decision to assemble a standby force while working on other diplomatic means to resolve the crisis in Niger.
Already some countries including Ivory Coast have agreed to provide troops for the force. However, some leaders of countries like Nigeria and Ghana are facing criticisms from the opposition who do not approve of the use of a military intervention.
Reacting to ECOWAS’ decision to assemble a force, security analyst Rtd Colonel Festus Aboagye said that the bloc may take a while to deploy a military force to Niger in its attempt to restore constitutional rule. He explained that a standby force relies on contributions from member states adding that some countries do not have enough troops or assets to provide.
Meanwhile, since the inception of the coup, Mr Abudu said that Ghanaians living in the now military run state are safe adding there has so far been no threat on anyone.
“Right now Niger is calm, there hasn’t been any fear, and everything is normal, we have some Ghanaians here, roughly 400 to 500 people.
So we are trying as a community…our main duty is to protect Ghanaians living here, so we are engaging the Ghana embassy here,” he stated.
Soldiers in the West African country of Niger announced a coup on national TV, on July 27. They said they had dissolved the constitution, suspended all institutions and closed the nation’s borders.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
