President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed worry over the escalating volatilities and multiplicity of threats across West Africa and the Sahel, and called for greater cooperation among neighbouring countries with Nigeria to contain them.

The President, who spoke yesterday, November 24 in Niamey, capital of Niger Republic, at the launch of the French version of his biography, Muhammadu Buhari: the Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria, said: “my remarks will not be complete if I did not mention the escalating volatilities and multiplicity of threats across our region of West Africa and the Sahel.

“The ever-evolving nature of the threats we face underlines the need for enhanced coordination. There is no doubt that we have made incremental progress in our collective fight against terrorism and other trans-border crimes.

“However, a lot remains to be done, especially in the face of renewed efforts by violent extremist groups to expand their operations and footholds in West Africa.”

Buhari, who spoke after inaugurating a 3.8km length and 160m wide Boulevard, named after him by the Government of Niger Republic  expressed the belief that ending terrorism and trans-border crimes in the region is achievable.

President Buhari reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to bilateral as well as multilateral initiatives, with neighbouring partners such as  Niger, Chad and Cameroun, toward realising this objective.

The President hoped that the book ‘‘would serve as a clarion call to emerging leaders across Africa, and inspire them to always be guided by the core values of hard work, integrity and patriotism.’’

He added that the lessons from the book should spur leaders to also work in accordance with the rule of law and constitutional constraints.

The Nigerian leader thanked President Bazoum for the honour bestowed on six Nigerians in August of this year, in recognition of their roles in strengthening the bonds between the two nations.

He described the relationship between Nigeria and Niger as  a true one, characterized by shared history, values and tradition.

“No wonder our people are able to coexist peacefully across our shared border, which spans over 1500 kilometres, and we remain the best of brothers and neighbours.

“It gives me great pleasure to note that President Bazoum has taken active steps to consolidate those fraternal bonds since assuming leadership in April last year.

“Mr. President has undoubtedly championed the expansion of frontiers of cooperation between our two countries and fostered an environment of mutual trust, further underscoring the importance that Niger attaches to the strategic nature of our relations.

“It is within this context that I find it auspicious that Mr. President dedicated time and resources to translate into the French language, a book chronicling my modest life.”

President Buhari also commended former President Issoufou for initiating the project and the incumbent for seeing to its completion and launching it.

“There is no greater honour than when one’s life is considered worthy of emulation.

“Your kindness translated through this gesture, is a further testament to the affinity that exists between our two peoples since time immemorial.”

He expressed deep appreciation to the Nigerien President ‘‘for the enviable honour’’ bestowed on him in a profound way.

The book reviewer was Prof Abdallah Adamu, former Vice Chancellor, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

At the book launch were President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger Republic, President Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea Bissau as well as the current Chairman of ECOWAS, General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno; Head of the Transition Military Council and President of Chad as well as former President of Niger Republic, Mahamadou Issoufou.

President of Niger decorated four Nigerians for their roles in fostering excellent bilateral  relations between both countries; they are Hadi Sirika, the Minister of Aviation, Mohammed Indimi, Chairman of Oriental Energy Resources (OER),  Sayyu Dantata, Chief Executive Officer, MRS Holdings Limited and Aliyu Farouk, APC chieftain.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has acknowledged the great anti-corruption roles which the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta has been playing, and has, therefore, been made him Ambassador of the EFCC.

The chairman of the anti-corruption agency, Abdulrasheed Bawa, while presenting Professor Danbatta with an ambassadorial badge today, November 24, in Abuja, acknowledged that the NCC, under the leadership of the Professor, has been in the vanguard of promoting transparency and openness with the strengthening of its Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit in line with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Act.

In a statement, the NCC Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Mouka, recalled that the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), had in 2020, similarly ranked the NCC above other departments and agencies of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy (MoCDE).

He said that the NCC topped the list among three other agencies under the ministry, which featured in the intra-ministerial agencies’ ranking in ethics compliance and institutional integrity with 81.15 per cent.

According to Mouka, the Commission led 24 other regulatory agencies to emerge as the most ethically-compliant parastatal among 25 different regulatory agencies assessed in the anti-graft agency’s Ethics Compliance and Integrity Scorecards (ECIS), 2020.

He said that in 2017, the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) awarded the NCC the topmost Platinum recognition for its institutional work processes, courtesy of its robust business organizational structure, policies, and practices that facilitated effective and efficient service delivery.

“In arriving at this conclusion, the BPSR also listed accountabilities and responsibilities for setting Standardized Operating Procedure (SOP) manuals of the Commission’s 19 departments as some of the high points.

“In the same vein, the NCC’S Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT) has been at the forefront of rolling out series of preventive measures in the country, helping in the process to curbing cyber-related crimes.

Bawa presented the badge to Danbatta yesterday in Abuja when the latter paid a courtesy visit to his office to deepen the synergy between the two agencies.

The Nigerian media industry has adopted the new co-regulation and code of ethics to address ethical and professional concerns in the industry.

The decision was reached at the end of a media roundtable, organised by the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) in conjunction with the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP).

Media chiefs and operators at the roundtable also noted that the success of the co-regulation would be achieved via a workable enforcement mechanism.

To achieve co-regulation, the Nigeria Press Organisation (NPO) comprising NPAN, NGE, and NUJ, along with BON, would work together to make the co-regulation system effective, particularly through the establishment of the ombudsman at local and central levels.

This is contained in a communique issued at the end of the media roundtable convened within the context of the imperative of a strategic response to the challenge of institutionalizing self-regulatory mechanisms by the media for the media.

The communique was jointly signed by the president, NPAN/NPO, Mal. Kabiru A. Yusuf, FNGE, president, NGE, Mustapha Isah, president, NUJ, Chief Chris Isiguzo, MFR, president, GOCOP, Maureen Chigbo and the executive secretary, BON, Dr. Yemisi Bamgbose.

The communique noted that efforts must be made to avoid the creation of bureaucratic structures that may have high-cost implications and therefore constitute obstacles to the efficient operation of the ombudsman.

The communiqué reads in part: “That sanctions for the violation of ethical codes and professional standards shall be determined by the Ombudsman, guided by the regulation.

“That media professional bodies and associations shall partner with media organisations to give wide publicity to the decisions of the Ombudsman,” the communique said.

On the revised Code of Ethics of Journalists in Nigeria, the communique noted that a bill of rights would be incorporated into the revised code to address concerns over some industry practices that tend to undermine the welfare and safety of journalists.

The communique also said: “That the revised code shall protect investigative journalism by making the public interest exception to instances where undercover methods may be used to obtain information.

“That the revised code shall distinguish between paid content and editorial content to preserve editorial integrity; and a new clause would be inserted to obligate journalists to promote the right of the people to know, freedom of the press and responsibility.”

The roundtable had two technical sessions in which presentations were made on “Pathway to Co-regulation through an Ombudsman Framework”.

Speaking at the event, the Editor-in-Chief/Senior Vice Chairman of LEADERSHIP  Group Limited, Azu Ishiekwene, based his presentation on the report of the committee of the NPO comprising NPAN, NGE and NUJ instituted in May 2021.

The committee was mandated to develop a framework for a generally acceptable, workable, and trusted self-regulatory platform for the industry, both at the local and central levels.

The second presentation was on “A Guide through the Revised Code of Ethics for Nigerian Journalists” by the editor-in-chief, Diamond Publications/founder of the Diamond Awards For Media Excellence (DAME) Trust Fund, Mr Lanre IDOWU , FNGE.

The revision of the existing code was predicated on the observation that the existing 1998 code is “outdated, not robust enough, (and) too general in nature.”

The committee was mandated to develop a framework for a generally acceptable, workable, and trusted self-regulatory platform for the industry, both at the local and central levels.

The round table came against the background of attacks on press freedom and media independence including through legislation by the government following the wrong perception that the media is unwilling to regulate itself; the poor state of compliance with ethical and professional standards by some journalists and editors; and the pollution of the information sphere by disinformation and misinformation.

The aim of the roundtable, supported by Daria Media and the MacArthur Foundation, was to obtain media stakeholders’ buy-in of the Ombudsman framework and the revised Code of Ethics of Journalists in Nigeria.

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the sacrifices which his Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, made for the benefit of Nigeria over the years will be cherished and documented for posterity.

In a message felicitating with Professor Gambari who turned 78 today, November 24, President Buhari said that his “exemplary dedication to the growth of the nation, and many sacrifices for the benefit of Nigerians, will be cherished and documented for posterity.”

He described Gambari as “former Minister of External Affairs, whose congeniality, brilliance and rectitude, continue to light his path as a scholar, publisher, international diplomat, and technocrat, with records of distinguished service in Nigeria and the United Nations (UN).”

Buhari acknowledged the courage, experience and wisdom of Gambari, adding that he brought all such qualities to bear on the position, and the difference made in government, “after serving as the longest Nigerian Ambassador to the United Nations, President of UNICEF, UN Under-Secretary-General, first Special Adviser on Africa to the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative for Darfur.”

The President recalled the days of Gambari as the Under-Secretary-General of the UN for Political Affairs, under Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-Moon and  prayed for his well-being and that of his family.