Chidimma Uchegbu -Abuja
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has lunched the Regional Partnership Democracy (RPD) a framework designed to curb democratic backsliding, reinforce institutions, and promote home-grown governance solutions.
- He performed the exercise alongside the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, and the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.
The lunching ceremony was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Headquarters in Abuja on Monday. Tugar emphasized that RPD is more than a policy instrument and also designed to strengthen democracy in Africa.
During the signing ceremony, Yusuf Tuggar, said the initiative marked “the opening of a new chapter in Africa’s democratic journey”. he highlighted the continent’s complex governance challenges and underscored the need for African-rooted solutions.
“We meet at a moment when democratic governance in Africa is confronted by sobering and deeply complex challenges… Too often, these structural weaknesses culminate in unconstitutional changes of government or protracted political instability,” he said.
Tuggar added that the RPD was conceived to ensure that democracy in Africa aligns more closely with local realities.
He noted that the initiative represents President Bola Tinubu’s contribution to democratic renewal on the continent and will be jointly operated from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN Resident Coordinator’s office.
In her remarks, Elsie Attafuah, UNDP’s Resident Representative in Nigeria, emphasized that the RPD will serve as a catalyst for transforming democratic ideals into practical governance tools, restoring public trust and reinforcing constitutionalism. To realise this vision, she said the UNDP has pledged to work with governments, civil society, the private sector and other partners to mobilize financing and technical expertise, while ensuring strong accountability and global best practice in implementation.
She stressed that the signing ceremony marks “not a conclusion, but a beginning”—a movement to ensure democracy becomes a lived reality across West African capitals and communities. The UNDP congratulated Nigeria, ECOWAS and regional partners, urging collective leadership to anchor a new era of democratic confidence, cooperation and transformation across the continent.
Dr. Omar Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, noted that governance in the sub-region has long struggled to deliver basic infrastructure, social protection and security, making the new initiative both timely and necessary. He warned that West Africa is witnessing a troubling spike in unconstitutional changes of government, whether through attempted or successful coups, or through political manoeuvres that undermine constitutionalism.
Equally concerning, ECOWAS said, is the growing trend of key candidates and parties being excluded from elections through judicial processes, weakening competitiveness and limiting voter choice. ECOWAS stressed that democratic backsliding is being fuelled not only by internal failures but also by global geopolitical shifts, misinformation driven by AI and social media, and the destabilising impact of terrorism —factors now reshaping the regional landscape and prompting a renewed introspection on the future of West African integration.
The newly signed partnership seeks to enhance electoral systems, strengthen early-warning mechanisms, elevate youth participation, counter disinformation, and promote long-term governance stability across West Africa.
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