Obasanjo elected AU chair

2004-07-06 13:38

Addis Ababa - President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria was on Tuesday elected to chair the African Union (AU) for a year, during the organisation's third summit in Addis Ababa, replacing Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique.

Obasanjo is one of the leading lights of the AU and its efforts to transform the pan-African body into a serious agent of change and unity on the continent.

He told fellow heads of state in the Ethiopian capital that he accepted his new position with a deep sense of responsibility.

"I will spare no effort to justify the confidence you have reposed in us. We shall strive at all times to promote our unity and solidarity as well as the sustenance of our hard earned independence" he said.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous state with 137 million inhabitants, "will also count on the valuable support of all of you in our collective effort to vigorously pursue co-operation and integration and to promote sustainable development of our continent," he said.

"The fundamental objective of the AU is to essentially accelerate the implementation of the African Economic Community in order to achieve socio-economic integration," he explained.

To this end, "we intend to confront the conflict situations in Africa with renewed vigour and determination," he pledged.

"Nigeria will work strenuously to make sure that Africa remains firmly on the agenda of the Group of 8 industrialised nations, the European Union and that of other partners in the effort to accelerate the socio-economic development of the continent" he said.

- AFP