By Abiola Olawale
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been re-elected as the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), about one year after he first took over the leadership of the regional bloc.
Tinubu, whose first tenure was due to elapse on July 9, 2024, was re-elected by a unanimous decision of fellow Heads of Government at the 65th Ordinary Session of the Authority which was held at the State House, Abuja, on Sunday.
This comes after the emergence of reports from some sections of the media that Tinubu had purportedly stepped down from his position as the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.
Meanwhile, in his acceptance address, Tinubu promised to remain committed to the battle against undemocratic rule and terrorism in the region.
He said: “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.”
In recent years, ECOWAS has been hit by a wave of coups in some member nations. Niger Republic, Mali, and Burkina Faso have been taken over by junta leaders.
ECOWAS had in the wake of the coups imposed sanctions including border closure on the three nations.
While they were lifted in February, the countries left the regional bloc a few days later. The trio said they have “irrevocably turned their backs” on ECOWAS and have instead formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
