BY SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
The newly appointed Vice Chairperson of the Continental Executive Council (CEC) of the Africa Blue Economy Roundtable (ABER), Barr. Sophie De Sylvie Djoufa Tiemagni, has pledged total commitment to advancing the organisation’s continental mandate.
Tiemagni made the commitment in her acceptance letter, following her appointment by the Convener and Chief Executive Officer of ABER, Dr. Piriye Kiyaramo.
She described the appointment as an extraordinary honour and a profound expression of confidence in her leadership.
“I will let my work answer the question of why you chose me. You have my total commitment,” she said.
Tiemagni said the appointment was not only a personal recognition but also a significant statement on the capacity of African women to shape the continent’s Blue Economy.
“I see it as a powerful statement about women’s leadership, women’s capacity and the place of African women in shaping the future of the Blue Economy,” she said.
Under Gazette No. ABER/CEC/CHARTER/09/26/001, the Vice Chairperson is the second-highest executive officer of ABER and a member of the organisation’s Presidium.
Her responsibilities include coordinating ABER’s 54 National Coordinators and six Regional Vice Chairs across Africa and the African Diaspora.
She is also expected to support the Convener in high-level engagements with the African Union, Regional Economic Communities, governments and development partners.
The Vice Chairperson will further lead efforts to harmonise regional Blue Economy strategies with ABER’s continental framework.
She will also co-chair CEC deliberations and support the implementation of Council resolutions across the organisation’s technical directorates and bureaus.
Tiemagni said she understood the responsibilities attached to the position and was prepared to work with the leadership and members of ABER to deliver results.
“Serving as Vice Chairperson means standing alongside you where vision must be transformed into action, where leadership must be translated into results. I am ready,” she said.
ABER is a continental multi-stakeholder platform comprising experts, policymakers, governments and development partners working to advance a sustainable, inclusive and sovereign Blue Economy for Africa.
Its vision is: “One Africa. One Ocean. One Prosp
erous Future.”
Jude Ossai (JP) a veteran journalist is a National Diploma holder in Mass Communication from Ogwashi-Uku Polytechnic Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State. He also studied at Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Enugu and Imo State University, Owerri for his first and second degrees in Mass Communication, respectively.
He writes extensively on politics, crime, corruption, climate change, healthcare, human rights, social justice, among others.
He began his journalism career in The Republic Newspaper, Lagos in 1987 as a Special Correspondent in Benin City, Edo State.
In 1990, he was posted from Lagos to old Anambra State as a State Correspondent in Enugu.
In 1994, he joined the African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) Plc, Ibadan, Oyo State, Publisher of Nigerian Tribune Newspapers where he rose to the rank of Southeast Bureau Chief.
Retiring from the mainstream traditional media in 2019, he began another journey in online newspaper publication.
He was the Overall Best Reporter in 2015, an award bestowed on him by Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Enugu State.
He has attended several workshops/seminars organised by multi-nationals, government institutions, local and international media including BBC.
He is also a unionist and had held top positions as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists of Enugu Correspondents’ Chapel and State Council of NUJ, respectively. He was also a one-time Enugu State Secretary of Sports Writers’ Association of Nigeria (SWAN).
