Nigeria has urged the African Union (AU) to accelerate efforts to build a $1 billion Peace Fund and develop innovative financing mechanisms to reduce the continent’s dependence on external funding for peace and security operations.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, made the call over the weekend at the 26th Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union in Luanda, Angola.Odumegwu-Ojukwu said sustainable and predictable financing was critical to enabling African countries to take greater responsibility for preventing and resolving conflicts on the continent.

She commended progress recorded in strengthening the AU Peace Fund, noting that member states had collectively contributed about $350.2 million, representing 87.5 per cent of the original $400 million capitalisation target, while the Fund’s balance had exceeded $405 million.

The minister said the disbursement of about $39 million for mediation, preventive diplomacy, peace support operations, and other interventions demonstrated the Fund’s growing importance in addressing Africa’s peace and security challenges.

She urged AU member states to honour their assessed contributions and make additional voluntary contributions where possible, describing such contributions as investments in collective security and sovereignty.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu stressed that African-led peace operations required predictable and reliable financing to meet the costs of personnel, logistics, equipment and other operational requirements.

She warned that uncertain funding could undermine the effectiveness of peace support operations and other interventions designed to address conflicts on the continent.

The minister called for a gradual transition from dependence on external assistance to greater African self-reliance, while acknowledging the continuing contribution of international partners to peace and security efforts.

“External assistance should complement African ownership; it should not substitute for it. African resources should remain the foundation of African peace and security financing,” she said.

She advocated the progressive capitalisation of the AU Peace Fund towards its $1 billion target, alongside increased resource mobilisation from African financial institutions, the private sector and strategic partners.

The minister also called for the full implementation of the 0.2 per cent levy under the Kigali Financing Decision, urging the AU Commission to explore additional innovative financing mechanisms capable of generating predictable, long-term revenue.