The Pan African Business Forum (PABF) asserts that the proven expertise and experience of a former Governor of Nigeria’s Ekiti State and a former Nigerian Minister of Solid Minerals Development make him suitable to serve as the next Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

The Forum has already written to the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging him to nominate Dr. Kayode Fayemi for the Continental Job.

The Pan African Business Forum is a formal grouping of like-minded entrepreneurs, corporate executives, businesspeople, investors, public officials, multilateral institutional executives, thought leaders, academics, and diplomats drawn from all across Africa.

Their collective objective is to promote economic cooperation and pan-African trade and investment with the aim of accelerating economic growth and development throughout the continent.

“Dr Fayemi is an excellent choice for the position in pursuance of the AU Commission’s efforts to promote enhanced pan African trade and investment, underpinned by increased local value added, with the ultimate aim of increasing wealth generation and consequent vastly improved living standards for the peoples of the continent in line with the Commission’s new economic agenda.” PABF indicated.

Dr Kayode Fayemi is a former Governor of Nigeria’s Ekiti State and a former Nigerian Minister of Solid Minerals Development, a role which gives him a vast expertise and experience in both political administration and the management of economic activity conducted on an international level.  

“As a holder of the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger, among many other awards, he is recognized as a most distinguished Nigerian worthy of the respect and confidence of Africa’s political, economic, social and cultural leadership”.

The leadership of PABF further pointed out in its letter to President Tinubu while adding that PABF believes that with Dr Fayemi at the helm, the AU Commission would be optimally positioned to pursue and attain the vision of the continent’s collective Gross Domestic Product surpassing  US$ 30 trillion within the foreseeable future.

The Forum is confident that he is the prime candidate to guide the Commission towards the path to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

President of the PABF, Dr. Ladislas Agbesi, in a release to the media, revealed that the PABF was instrumental in the nomination of South Africa’s Dr. Dlamini Zuma to the position of Chairperson of the AU Commission, a position she subsequently held between 2011 and 2015.

She demonstrated outstanding skill, resulting in exemplary progress achieved by the Commission towards greatly enhanced socio-economic progress across Africa. This progress was propelled by pivotal pan-African initiatives such as the design of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which is now the continent’s flagship multilateral economic initiative.