Diplomats from that country say African foreign ministers have made the decision to be inked by their leaders at their summit starting in Niger today.

The ultimate goal of the African Free Trade Agreement, which will come into force at the AU summit in Niamey, is to remove trade barriers and tariffs between the 55 members of the continental bloc.

For the time being, they will work on reducing high transport cost and cumbersome customs regimes that stop African countries trading with each other.

When all AU members are signed up the agreement will encompass a market of 1,2 billion people.

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Analysts say there is little chance of this happening but Fayulu is given full credit for insisting  his supporters keep their protests about a rigged election peaceful.

Martin Fayulu points to the Catholic Church, Western powers and even some prominent African leaders saying he won the Congolese presidential election convincingly.

In a letter to the African Union summit in Addis Ababa at the weekend, Fayulu cites  electoral commission vote tallies from the polling stations as further proof that  he won.

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Heads of delegations from the 55-member continental organisation are expected tatted a high level working group meeting on reducing this pollution endangering life and health on land and in the water.

18 African countries have already banned the use of single-use plastic, particularly bags.

They’ve done this to reduce the annual rate of eight million tons of plastic being dumped into river and the sea.

Some scientists say the mass of plastic in the sea already outweighs that of marine life.

The UN Environmental Agency says if African programmes are implemented, the continent is on the right path to eradicating single-use plastics.

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Speaking on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa the UN chief says the continent could become an example to the world of solving and preventing conflict.

Antonio Guterres cites a peace deal between Ethiopia and Eritrea and the peace agreements signed in South Sudan and the Central African Republic to back his assertion that a wind of hope is blowing through the Africa.

As usual, the UN chief is one of the honored guests at the gathering of the heads of state and government from the 55 members of the continental grouping.

Guterres also mentions elections in Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali as proof of the rise of democracy in Africa.

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Macron is familiar with Nigeria having trained at the French embassy  in Lagos when it was still the capital. 

ends intro

Emmanuel Macron becomes the first sitting head of state to visit the nightclub associated with dagga, protest songs and scantily clad women.

Nigeria’s making the most of his visit with officials saying it’s giving Johannesburg a run for its money as the cultural mecca of the continent.

Macron’s in Lagos having visited Mauritania to speak about security issues on the fringes of the African Union summit and then stopping in Abuja for talks with President Muhamadu Buhari.  

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