TOGOLESE NEWS IN NIGERIA

The Council of Ministers met on Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at the Palace of the Presidency of the Republic, under the chairmanship of His Excellency, Mr. Faure Essozimna GNASSINGBE, President of the Republic.  The Council has: - adopted two (2) bills and three (3) decrees; - listened to three (3) communications; - and made appointments. Under Bills The first bill passed by the Council authorizes the ratification of the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, adopted on November 17, 1970 in Paris. Entered into force in 1972, this convention aims to combat the illicit trade in cultural property. It organizes international cooperation to combat the looting of cultural property in general and works of art in particular. Its ratification will consolidate the legal framework for the protection of the national heritage. It will also make it possible to benefit from UNESCO's technical ...

Before the Ghanaian president facilitator of the inter-Togolese dialogue, there was a long list of those who tried to settle the political ills of Togo.  Many had to break their teeth or take a partisan position in the Togolese political equation. The French Bernard Stasi and Philippe Bardiaux, Idé Oumarou on behalf of the Francophonie, Georges Reich for the European Union, Paul Von Stulpnagel sent by Germany ... could not do anything. To this list are added Blaise Compaoré (former President of Burkina Faso), the late Omar Bongo Ondimba, and President Alassane Ouattara and his Guinean counterpart Alpha Condé. Nana Akufo-Addo is struggling for the moment to advance the work of the 27th dialogue between the ruling party and its opposition. Both sides have radically different positions. So many predict the failure of the talks started Monday, February 19 at the hotel February 2 in Lome after six months of popular demonstrations organized by the coalition of 14 political ...

Faure Gnassingbe was the missing person at the opening of the inter-Togolese dialogue while Nana Akufo Addo from Ghana left her country for facilitation. Voices strongly denounced this attitude of the Togolese head of state. Noël De Pouk'n, at the press conference of the Young Unite Movement (MJU) Friday did not fail to defend the attitude of the one he calls "champion".  The Delegate for the Mobilization of Electoral Matters at the Youth Unite Movement (MJU) suggested that "the President has gained momentum by not going to dialogue himself. It's a way to let his Ghanaian counterpart do his job well. " Moreover, he argues, Nana Akufo Addo has clearly meant to the Togolese people at the opening of the Lomé Dialogue 2018: "I did not come with a magic wand to find a solution" to the Togolese problem. For him, the reception of Nana Akufo Addo by Faure Gnassingbe is already a mark of courtesy: "The proof is Faure Gnassingbe who went to ...

This is the purpose of the open letter by which a journalist journalist, called the public prosecutor, on the NUBUEKE file, a movement under judicial harassment for his support of the democratic struggle. "... given that circumstances do not allow me to wait for your answers, I will take the risk of challenging you, without prior permission, while being prepared to assume the consequences of my daring ..." writes the author in a letter where he asks the prosecutor Poyodi Essolizam to reconsider the file of the three (03) members of the civil society movement NUBUEKE that the regime through the justice, tries to decapitate. Recall that the three (03) members of Nubueke held in the Lomé civil prison for charges "wacky" according to their association and human rights organizations, have not benefited from the non-place make-up under the dome of the presidential thanks last week. Read the open letter addressed to the public prosecutor! Open letter to the public...

Former Togolese international, Salou Bachirou, after his retirement lives in Germany but follows "closely what happens in Togolese football". He is ready to bring his "experience".  It was via an animated show on a private radio in Lomé that the Togolese again listened to the voice of the one who played in the national team of Togo between 1989 and 1998. The winner of the German Cup with Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1995 said to be in the scent of football news in Togo. So that he is able to meet the evils that his football suffers. "We have to look for perfection and some stability," he says. The former Agaza player from Lome says he is one of the former internationals ready to serve their country. "Only, we can not do it without being solicited. We can not leave our bases, go back to the country and start by talking or saying things ... The best is to wait to be solicited as was the case of Agassa Kossi and Abalo Dosseh, "he says. . ...

The National Secretary of the CAR, a member of the Coalition of 14, although the second act of dialogue has heralded a blockage, remains optimistic and tries to reassure that white smoke will come out.  This is reflected in the words of Jean Kissi, national secretary of the Action Committee for Renewal (CAR), received yesterday in a program on a private radio station. According to him, the members of G14 are "determined" to work on their side so that the discussions lead to concrete conclusions wanted by the majority of Togolese. He added that the ruling power is advancing "ethnic, traditional, clan considerations to block the return to the 1992 Constitution." While the return of this fundamental law, he stresses, "will not engender KO", because "it settles the problem of longevity in power and also the conservation of powers in the hands of a only person ", justifies Jean Kissi. The opponent also recalls that "it is a false sto...

Case of Market Fires / Release of Prisoners On the first day of the meeting between political actors (power and opposition, including the Coalition of 14 parties) on February 19 in the framework of the inter-Togolese dialogue, it was agreed to release the political prisoners to meet the measures appeasement. Of course, since Tuesday, detainees are recovering their freedom, including people arrested in connection with the fire record of the major markets of Lomé and Kara. On Wednesday, the main defendant in this case, who had (wrongly) cited opposition leaders and activists as the instigators of these heinous crimes, Mohamed Loum, a resident of Kara's civil prison, was released. him too.  As a result, these releases are based on the debate around these people who, arrested and arbitrarily imprisoned, could not survive the acts of torture and other inhuman and degrading treatment of which they were victims. Among these people is Etienne Yakanou, head of the federation of the...

STATEMENT ON THE 2017-2018 REPORT OF THE AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL NGO ON TOGO ASVITTO WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE THE OBJECTIVITY, PRECISION AND CLEARITY OF THE REPORT AND INVITE THE GOVERNMENT TO COMMIT TO MORE EFFECTIVELY IN RESPECT OF THE RIGHTS OF THE MAN FOR EFFECTIVE PROTECTION OF CIVILIAN POPULATIONS  In its 2017-2018 annual report published early last week on the human rights situation in Togo, the NGO Amnesty International was very objective, very precise and very clear. The report indexed in a very detailed manner almost all the realities and practices that hinder the respect of human rights in Togo. It is with great satisfaction that the Association of Victims of Torture in Togo (ASVITTO) welcomed this report, which showed a clearness and unequaled truth over the period of the serious political crisis in progress in Togo. . ASVITTO is keen to approve and validate the content of this report and to congratulate it on its exhaustively objective nature, which is in line ...

Nearly 200 employees of the Chinese company CRBC (China Road and Bridge Corporation) to rehabilitate the roads Lomé-Vogan-Afoin and Lome-Noépé, were falsely dismissed this week. It is following confrontations occurred during the mood swings of the 08 and 09 February.  These workers, very dissatisfied with their dismissal, say they do not stop there. They plan, in the coming days, and together with the leaders of the Union of Workers, Managers, Employees of Public Works and Buildings (SOECTRAB), major actions to get into their right. According to Gavor Kodjo, Secretary General of SOECTRAB who defends the workers dismissed by this Chinese company, the reasons why the Chinese company returns workers on construction sites do not hold water. "Workers are indignant against the very low hourly rate that does not even meet the Collective Interprofessional Convention, long hours of work without rest. They are often assigned to workplaces without being paid for the housing or tra...

It is no longer a secret, stale or falsified products, unfit for consumption, flood the Lome and the interior of the country, to the great misery of the people. And for these products to flow easily, rogue traders significantly reduce their cost. This is the case of "Wheat Flour Premium Grade", a wheat flour of dubious quality that is currently on the market. Poor citizens with low financial capacity throw themselves on these products without taking care to check their dates of manufacture and expiry.  In fact, four containers loaded with Wheat Flour Premium Grade wheat flour were landed a few weeks ago at the Autonomous Port of Lomé (PAL). Sources reveal that two of these containers were taken out of the Port and the contents dumped on the market, but the other two are seized by the customs in order to know the origin and the quality of this product. The same sources indicate that on the packing bags of this flour, it is mentioned nowhere dates of manufacture and exp...

Discussions between Togolese political actors, including the C14 and the regime in place with the facilitation of Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo, begin with some results. The exchanges of February 19, which extended late into the night, resulted in a few points of agreement. The regime has committed to release 45 detainees, grant bail to those in the fire case, and deal with other detainees on a case-by-case basis. The Coalition of 14 Political Parties, in turn, committed to suspend the markets during the dialogue period.  In the aftermath of the facilitation press conference announcing the decisions taken, the gates of Lomé, Atakpamé, Sokodé and Dapaong prisons have opened wide. The lifting of the nut continued in the day of last Wednesday with the temporary freedom granted to the alleged authors of the fires arbitrarily imprisoned for 5 years. There are still at least 40 detainees including three (03) members of the Nubueke Movement. Their case should be addressed as so...

Will the work of the "Lomé 218" dialogue continue on Friday 23 February 2018 as planned? This is the question that lurks some observers after the statement of Eric Dupuy, in charge of the Communication of the National Alliance for Change (ANC), on Thursday on Victoire FM.  While the national and international opinion await a continuation of the "Lomé 2018" talks started on Monday, the ANC member of the coalition of 14 opposition party is intractable on the record of charges in the case of fires of major markets of Lomé and Kara. Media outlets of the leaders of the Orange party (For now we do not know if the ANC reasons not the coalition) augur a tense atmosphere this Friday night when the resumption of work. Speaking Thursday on Victoire FM, Jean-Pierre Fabre's right-hand man welcomed the provisional release of six people arrested in 2013-2014 as part of the Lomé and Kara market fires. But for Eric Dupuy, this temporary release is not a guarantee. Th...

In Gbodjomé, a town in the prefecture of the Lakes, two families are fighting for the throne of the traditional chieftaincy so that the reintroduction of Kokou Atti tomorrow may degenerate.  Will the Togbui Kokou Atti reintroduction ceremony take place tomorrow in Gbodjomé? This is the question many are asking. Because the Etou family, whose ancestor is the founder of this village, disputes any legitimacy. Indeed, Joseph Aboki Etou II, traditional chief of the locality, was dismissed in 2004 in favor of Kokou Atti. Then he is restored to his rights before his decree of recognition is again repealed always for the benefit of his rival. Brought to justice, the Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Etou family in 2013. But it is Kokou Atti who will be reintroduced tomorrow in violation of this decision of Justice. Cries of anger in Gbodjomé that some young people are preparing to prevent any enthronement.

"Iran played a decisive role in the fight against terrorism" On the occasion of the 39th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution and the National Day of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Accra accredited to Togo addressed his compatriots. Here is his speech:  Speech by His Excellency Dr. Nosratolla Maleki, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran accredited to Accra, Togo. First of all, I take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to your honorable presence at this ceremony. The Islamic Republic of Iran maintains good bilateral relations with Togo and intends to strengthen this relationship particularly in the economic, commercial and scientific. We celebrate the 39th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution and the National Day of the Islamic Republic of Iran at a time when the shrub of the Islamic Revolution has become a stable and fertile tree despite four decades of strong storm...

Why a dialogue with "a dictatorship" and for which agenda? For Togoata Apedo-Amah, this is where the reflections "all the opponents who rushed to meet the desires of the Gnassingbé clan to capture the light of stardom" should be. Read! "Those who make half-revolutions only dig their graves" (Saint-Just) What is the point of the famous dialogue between the criminal dictatorship and the opposition? Have we asked the question well? This interrogation calls first and foremost the opponents who rushed to meet the wishes of the Gnassingbé clan to capture the light of stardom. Have they forgotten the demands of the people who tirelessly roam the streets of our towns and hamlets, often leaving their blood behind, to drive Faure Gnassingbe out of power with his civilian and military usurping accomplices? In the points to be discussed, nowhere did I read "immediate departure from the dictator" Ladies and Gentlemen the opponents, you claim to ...

Most of the detainees held in 2013-2014 in the Kara and Lomé market fire cases returned to their homes on Wednesday. Speaking to Victoire Fm this Thursday, Eric Dupuy, the communication officer of the National Alliance for Change (ANC), gave his assessment of the release of these political detainees.  "6 people who were released, as part of the fires in the markets of Kara and Lomé, there remains a person in the person of Mr Kpogo who was not in this context, but who was arrested, some time after during student demonstrations, "said Jean-Pierre Fabre's right-hand man. For Eric Dupuy, this release is "a good thing, because it is not easy to spend years in civilian prisons in the country where conditions are not human". The politician would have liked the militant Étienne Yakanou, who lost his life in prison in this case of market fires, to be counted among these political prisoners released Wednesday. "Today, I have an emotional thought for the Ya...

Togolese Head of State Faure Gnassingbe, President-in-Office of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), arrived here Wednesday in Accra, Ghana which opens the work of the 5th meeting of the "Presidential Task Force" on the program of the single currency of the community organization.  "I am taking part this Wednesday, February 21 in Accra at a meeting of our community organization, the ECOWAS on the process of creation of a single currency," has posted the head of the Togolese State on his Twitter account. During this high-level meeting which is part of the operationalization of the vision of the heads of state of the sub-region for an ECOWAS peoples and that of a single economic area, the presidents of Ghana, from Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire and Niger, members of the "Presidential Task Force", will adopt a new roadmap to accelerate the process of creation of the single currency by ...

Since the new "controversial" law on decentralization has been passed by the parliamentary majority RPT / UNIR, tension is mounting in the communities. Wrong cadres (belonging to the ruling party, ed) of these localities make use of this law according to their desiderata, thus creating frustrations within the populations. When the people of Klabe-Efoukpa and Okou are at loggerheads in the Wawa prefecture, the tone increases and hardens between Mission Tové and Kovié. In the maneuvers, power brokers are mentioned.  When it unilaterally launched the process of decentralization and fanciful creation of the communes, the power blinded by an electoral vision did not see the danger coming. Despite the warnings, the regime refused to listen to reason. The government has cut down on existing communities, which in particular engenders. "The dissolution of the capital cities of the prefectures in a nebula of communes created for electoral purposes". "In addition, ...

The former Togolese Minister of Territorial Administration, Decentralization and Local Communities shares his time praying, traveling and "working his networks".  Right arm of Faure Gnassingbé, today in disgrace, Pascal Bodjona, 52, occupies his time well. In fact, according to La Lettre du Continent N ° 771, the "large format" minister prays a lot. He regularly visits his son Junior, who is studying in France. The politician treats his relations with his network on the African level and internationally. Indeed, close to some political figures of the Togolese opposition, the former chief of staff of the head of state, "would not be reluctant to regain a foothold in politics or to take a role in resolving the crisis that is playing out in the country since August 2017, "says La Lettre du Continent. However, adds the same source, he does everything to "never" irritate Faure Gnassingbe. Cacique of the ruling regime, Pascal Bodjona was ...

The government plans to make a move in force and impose its famous referendum Last week, just a few days before the start of the preparatory work for the actual dialogue that is opening today, Faure Gnassingbé and his friends have once again demonstrated that they have resolutely opted for the darkness of Togo in place and place of light. We remember that about two weeks ago, it was Minister Gilbert Bawara who left Togo for Europe with several billion francs in his suitcase in the hope of corrupting some of the leading figures in the Togolese diaspora very determined and thus to bring down the tension and mobilization in Europe; mobilization that since August 2017 has not at all arranged the affairs of power in the eyes of the international community. Did he succeed in his mission?  We were there when ten days ago, President Buhari of Nigeria, receiving the credentials of the new ambassador of Togo in Abuja declared that: "The political crises are bad for the development ...

The president of the Pan-African National Party (PNP) wanted to take part in the ongoing dialogue in Lome. But the opponent could not obtain the guarantee for his safety.  Tikpi Atchadam, the man who has given strength to the Togolese opposition, is not taking part in the 27th Inter-Togolese Dialogue that began last Monday at the 2 February hotel in Lome. Since the beginning of peaceful popular protests that began on August 19, his life is in danger. The one who became the opponent who scares Lome II "had asked for protection to ensure his presence, because fearing for his safety," says La Lettre du Continent in its delivery No. 771 of 21 February 2018. Currently living in Accra in Ghana, the same news site adds that he "also did not get Togolese permission to return to his country surrounded by Ghanaian bodyguards as he had also proposed". It is from the Ghanaian capital that his representatives give him the reports of the work of the dialogue. The ta...

On the occasion of its 2nd anniversary of existence, the online confrere "The Gazette of Togo" organized Saturday, February 10 in Lomé a meeting of exchanges with actors of the world socio-political, economic and media. Several panels have furnished the meeting including that concerning the situation of the economy of Togo with the MP Ouro-Akpo Tchagnao.  In his presentation, the deputy of the National Alliance for Change (ANC) put forward some specific examples of mismanagement that froze all assistance. It is recalled that on December 14, 2010, the Bretton Woods institutions admitted Togo into the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (PTTE). A decision instead of being a shame for the country, was rather celebrated with pomp by Faure Gnassingbe and his group. With the HIPC initiative, Togo had benefited from an 80% reduction in its external debt. Togo's public debt rose from 1244 billion to 767 billion, or 46% of GDP. At the time, the World Bank's resident repre...