Agence de Presse Ouest-Africaine
Agence de Presse Ouest-Africaine
Togo news and analysis — Lomé politics, governance and the economy, with the latest updates from West Africa News Agency.
West African countries set the voting age at 18, but presidential eligibility ranges from 30 in The Gambia to 50 in Togo. Ghana agreed in July 2026 to lower its threshold from 40 to 35, while Nigeria did so in 2018. High nomination fees, party rules and candidate exclusions remain barriers that age limits alone do not address.
Cultural experts from ECOWAS member states met in Lomé from 21 to 23 October 2026 and validated a regional cultural calendar covering 624 events. The technical sessions also addressed a harmonised cultural database and reviewed funding criteria for major festivals and cultural projects, with participants recommending annual calendar updates and a biennial regional cultural magazine.
ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture Dehpue Yenpea Zuo met Togo's environment minister on October 9, 2026, to discuss cooperation on environmental protection, natural resource management and sustainable development. The talks cited Togo's coastal groynes and forest conservation targets as areas for regional collaboration.
ECOWAS and its partners convened energy and statistics officials from Member States in Lomé from 5 to 9 October 2026 to review energy efficiency indicators for 2023 and 2024. Delegations validated data country by country and technically endorsed a regional collection strategy covering energy efficiency, biomass and clean cooking. The reviewed data will feed a second edition of the ECOWAS Regional Energy Efficiency Report and the region's energy information platforms.
Animal health ministers from the Economic Community of West African States adopted three regional strategies at a meeting in Lomé, Togo, on 8 October 2026. The plans cover donkey protection and conservation through 2030, and the prevention and control of foot-and-mouth disease and avian influenza for 2027 to 2031. The donkey strategy includes a commitment to ban trade in donkey skins, while the other two set out measures on surveillance, vaccination, data sharing and coordination through the Regional Animal Health Centre.
ECOWAS officials carried out a five-day fact-finding mission from 21 to 25 September 2026 to check how free movement rules are applied at Togo's borders with Benin and Ghana. The delegation, led by Resident Representative H.E. Ms Deweh Emily Gray, visited the Tohoun and Kémérida crossings on the Togo–Benin route and Natchamba and Noépé-Akanu on the Togo–Ghana route. The data collected will be consolidated into an analysis identifying difficulties, good practices and operational recommendations.
ECOWAS opened its 11th annual meeting of animal health networks in Lomé on Tuesday, bringing together veterinary officials and regional partners to strengthen surveillance and control of transboundary animal diseases. Participants will review and adopt the electronic platform of the Regional Animal Health Information System, while a ministerial gathering on the sidelines is set to approve regional strategies on donkey conservation, foot-and-mouth disease, and avian influenza.
ECOWAS animal health networks are meeting in Lomé, Togo, from 6 to 8 October 2026 to discuss regional governance of animal health and adopt new surveillance tools. The 11th annual meeting brings together veterinary services heads, laboratory and epidemiology network focal points, and representatives of regional bodies. A ministerial gathering on the sidelines will consider strategies on donkey conservation, foot-and-mouth disease and avian influenza.
Togo's electricity provider, CEET, has announced nationwide intermittent power cuts from August 28 to September 21, 2026, due to scheduled maintenance on the West African Gas Pipeline. The company will use liquid fuels to mitigate the impact but warns that outages may still occur, and advises customers to unplug appliances to avoid damage.
Wycliffe-Togo held its annual general assembly in Lomé on August 29, 2026, where leaders linked Bible translation into local languages to the preservation of Togo's linguistic and cultural heritage. The Bible is currently available in Ewé, Mina and Ntcham, with work advanced on translations into Lama, Kabyè, Ifè and Moba in partnership with SIL.
