Tinubu elected ECOWAS chairman
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has emerged as the new Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
“We will take democracy seriously, Democracy is very tough but it is the best form of government,” he said upon his emergence on Sunday in Guinea-Bissau as chairman at the 63rd Ordinary Session of the regional bloc.
“We will take democracy seriously, Democracy is very tough but it is the form of government,” the Nigerian leader said after he received handover documents from the outgoing chairman who is Guinea-Bissau’s President, Umaro Embaló.
The ECOWAS Chairmanship is a position held by one of the heads of state or government of the member countries, chosen on a rotating basis for a one-year tenure.
Former President Buhari had occupied the position from 2018 to 2019.
Though the role does not confer executive powers, the Chairman plays a strategic role in conflict resolution, advocacy and liaises with the President of the ECOWAS Commission, the executive responsible for the day-to-day management and implementation of ECOWAS policies and decisions.
The ECOWAS summit in Guinea-Bissau was Tinubu’s first international outing on the African continent since he became Nigerian president on May 29.
He had attended the summit for ‘A New Global Financing Pact’ hosted by Emmanuel Macron, French president, in Paris, France, in June.
ECOWAS was formed in 1975 and currently has 15 member states with a combined population of 387 million and nominal GDP of $816 billion.
The member states are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
