President Bola Tinubu has been re-elected as Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Tinubu was reelected as the economic bloc’s chairman on Tuesday during the 65th ordinary session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, which took place at the presidential residence in Abuja.
President Tinubu was initially elected in July 2023 during the 63rd ordinary session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Bissau, the Republic of Guinea-Bissau’s capital.
Tinubu is the eighth Nigerian leader to be elected ECOWAS chairman. Former President Muhammadu Buhari led the group twice, first as military head of state and subsequently as democratic president.
ECOWAS was founded in 1975, and its member countries include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger left ECOWAS in February and founded the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
Following a series of coups, the three governments ruled by military juntas split from the West African regional grouping.
ECOWAS slapped penalties on the junta-led countries, including border closures and a suspension on electric power exports to Niger, as part of efforts to reverse the coups in their countries.
The sanctions were withdrawn in February, but the countries withdrew from ECOWAS just a few days later.
Tinubu told members of the group before he was reelected as chairman that ECOWAS heads of state must have political will to eradicate terrorism in their respective nations.
Tinubu told the gathering:
“As we move to operationalise the ECOWAS Standby Force (ESF) in combating terrorism, I must emphasise that the success of this plan requires not only strong political will but also substantial financial resources.”
“We must, therefore, ensure that we meet the expectations and recommendations set forth by our ministers of defence and finance to counter the insecurity and stabilise our region.
“Member states must make extra commitments to providing resources for stabilising the region.”