NNRA DG, Idris becomes AFCONE chairperson

The Director-General (DG), Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), Dr. Yau Idris, has been elected the new Chairperson of the Bureau of the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE).

He was elected at the fifth Conference of State Parties (CSP) to the African Nuclear Weapons Free Zone, otherwise known as the Treaty of Pelindaba.

AFCONE is governed by the Bureau Chairman, three vice-chairs and the executive secretary with its Secretariat in Pretoria, South Africa.

The election took place on Tuesday at the African Union (AU) Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Idris will chair the AFCONE CSP for two years (2022-2024).

The Treaty of Pelindaba signed in 1996 and coming into effect in 2009 has 41 African countries as state parties with the African Union (AU) as the depository of the Treaty.

The Pelinda Treaty mandates AFCONE to collate states parties’ yearly reports, review the application of peaceful nuclear activities and safeguards by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), bring into effect the complaints procedure, encourage regional and sub-regional cooperation, as well as promote international cooperation with extra-zonal States for the peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology.