Remit your contributions, Buhari tells Gulf of Guinea member-states

President Muhammadu Buhari, Thursday in Abuja, appealed to Member-States of the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) to remit their outstanding Annual Assessed Contributions to the Secretariat, saying the continued non-payment by the majority has greatly affected the ability of the Commission to fulfil the mandate for which it was established in 2001.

The President made the appeal at a virtual meeting of the Heads of State and Government of Member States of the Commission, convened to review progress on efforts to deal with the maritime challenges in the region.

The President said the inability of member-states to pay their assessment was threatening the continued existence of the Commission.

He also called for urgent collective action against the dangers and threats affecting maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea Region.

The President told the summit that Nigeria considers the effective functioning of the GGC as strategic to the collective security interest in the Gulf region, particularly in addressing issues such as piracy, proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons, protection of marine resources as well as irregular migration to the region.

“As a demonstration of our firm commitment towards the repositioning of the GGC into a more vibrant Organization that will effectively deliver on its mandate, Nigeria hosted the 4th Ordinary Summit of the Assembly of Heads of States and Government of the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) from 21st – 23rd November, 2017 in Abuja.

“In addition, Nigeria hosted the 11th Ordinary session of the Council of Ministers of the Gulf of Guinea in Abuja from 19th to 20th November, 2019 as part of our efforts to revitalize the activities of the Commission.

“These sessions observed, inter alia, that non-payment of Assessed Contribution by majority of the GGC Member-States to support the Commission’s operational budget has seriously affected the effective delivery of the organization’s mandate.”

President Nana Akuffo-Ado of Ghana emerged the new President at the end of the Summit.