By Abdullahi Lukman
The African Union has elected Burundi’s President, Évariste Ndayishimiye, as its chair for 2026, as leaders concluded the bloc’s 39th summit with a focus on water security, institutional reform and peace across the continent.
Ndayishimiye succeeds Angola’s President, João Lourenço, following the two-day Assembly of Heads of State and Government held at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The summit, themed around sustainable water availability and safe sanitation under the AU’s Agenda 2063 development blueprint, highlighted water access as a critical development, public health and security priority amid climate change, rapid urbanisation and ongoing conflicts.
The focus carries implications for countries such as Nigeria, where access to potable water, environmental pressures and farmer–herder tensions remain pressing concerns.
Nigerian authorities have also advocated stronger continental collaboration on infrastructure and climate resilience.
AU Commission Chair, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, warned delegates of mounting geopolitical tensions, persistent conflicts and a resurgence of unconstitutional changes of government in parts of Africa.
He called for accelerated political and economic integration, improved domestic resource mobilisation and reduced dependence on external funding to sustain key projects in agriculture, energy, industrialisation and infrastructure.
In his opening remarks as outgoing chair, Lourenço urged member states to intensify efforts to “silence the guns,” citing ongoing crises in Sudan, the Sahel, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.
Instability in the Sahel remains of particular security relevance to Nigeria, which continues to grapple with insurgency and cross-border armed groups.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called on African nations to play a more assertive role in shaping global affairs, stressing the importance of technological advancement and continental self-confidence as the AU approaches its 25th anniversary.
Also addressing the summit, António Guterres reaffirmed the United Nations’ support for enhanced UN–AU cooperation and renewed calls for reform of the UN Security Council to strengthen African representation — a longstanding demand of several African states, including Nigeria.
The newly elected AU bureau for 2026 will include Ghana as first vice-chair, Tanzania as second vice-chair, a North African country to be confirmed as third vice-chair, and Angola as rapporteur, as deliberations continue on advancing peace, water security and institutional reforms across the continent.
