Nigeria Reaffirms ECOWAS Commitment as New Leadership Assumes Office

Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), urging the bloc’s new leadership to deepen regional integration and focus on issues that directly affect citizens.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, gave the assurance in Abuja during the handover ceremony for outgoing and incoming statutory appointees of ECOWAS institutions.

Representing the Federal Government and conveying President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s greetings and best wishes, Enikanolaiye described the transition as a demonstration of continuity in the collective efforts to advance regional integration, more than five decades after the establishment of ECOWAS.

He called on the new leadership to uphold the vision of the bloc’s founding fathers by working towards a united, peaceful, prosperous and integrated West Africa.

The minister particularly urged the incoming management to pursue an “ECOWAS of citizens and not of governments”, stressing that the regional organisation must remain responsive to the needs and aspirations of its people.

He charged the new team to give priority to the implementation of ECOWAS Vision 2050, titled *“The ECOWAS of Peoples: Peace and Prosperity for All.”*

According to him, the vision should translate into practical progress in areas such as free movement, intra-regional trade and investment, infrastructure development, food and energy security, youth and women empowerment, as well as employment generation.

Enikanolaiye also stressed the need for greater financial discipline within ECOWAS institutions, saying transparency, accountability, cost-effectiveness and prudent management of resources must remain central to the bloc’s operations.

He noted that member states, including Nigeria, make significant contributions through the Community Levy and said such investments must produce tangible benefits for citizens across the region.

On regional security, the minister maintained that peace remained fundamental to achieving meaningful economic integration. He therefore called for stronger engagement with the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) countries, describing them as brothers and sisters facing common challenges and sharing similar aspirations.

While commending the outgoing President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, and other outgoing commissioners and heads of institutions for their service, Enikanolaiye congratulated the incoming leadership.

He urged them to provide leadership guided by vision, integrity, efficiency and commitment to the welfare of citizens of the Community.

“Nigeria remains committed to working constructively with the new leadership and all Member States towards a stronger, more integrated and people-centred ECOWAS,” he said.

The transition also marked the assumption of office by the new President of the ECOWAS Commission, General Birame Diop of Senegal.

Diop, a former Senegalese Minister of Defence and former Chief of the General Staff of the Senegalese Armed Forces, was appointed by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government at its 69th Ordinary Summit in Sierra Leone.

He succeeds Touray of The Gambia, whose four-year tenure as president of the Commission has ended.

The new ECOWAS Commission president has pledged to provide strategic leadership aimed at strengthening regional integration, peace and security, economic cooperation and institutional effectiveness.

Nigeria’s Anthony Ogunjimi is to serve as Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission, while new commissioners have also been appointed to replace the outgoing team.

The Abuja ceremony was attended by the Chair of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, Cheikh Niang; members of the Permanent Representatives Committee; Chairman of the ECOWAS Business Council, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; staff of ECOWAS institutions and members of the press.