President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumes the chairmanship of ECOWAS following his election at the 63rd ordinary session.
The election took place in Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau, as reported by TheCable.
Tinubu expressed his unwavering dedication to providing purposeful leadership and serving the community’s best interests.
“Indeed, I’m humbled and honoured by this trust, and want to assure you of my unalloyed commitment to provide the necessary leadership with dedication to serve the interest of the community,” he said.
He also called for collective actions from member-states to combat insecurity and terrorism affecting the progress and development of the region.
“On peace and security, the threat has reached an alarming level, and needs urgent actions in addressing the challenges,” Tinubu said.
“Indeed, without a peaceful environment, progress and development in the region will continue to remain elusive. In this regard, we must remain committed to the utilisation of all regional frameworks at our disposal to address the menace of insecurity,”
Tinubu’s election as ECOWAS chairman makes him the eighth Nigerian leader to hold the position.
The summit in Guinea-Bissau was Tinubu’s first international outing as Nigerian president since assuming office.
Prior to this, he participated in the ‘A New Global Financing Pact’ summit hosted by Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
ECOWAS, established in 1975, comprises 15 member states with a combined population of 387 million and a nominal GDP of $816 billion.
The member states include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.