Abuja: New ECOWAS President, Birame Diop, has pledged to deepen cooperation with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, who recently quit ECOWAS and formed a parallel bloc, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Diop made this known during his formal inauguration as president alongside a new management for the ECOWAS Commission on Monday in Abuja.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Diop was earlier confirmed in July by ECOWAS leaders during the 69th Ordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government. He emphasized the urgent need for ECOWAS to strengthen internal cohesion and engage with the breakaway member states, highlighting that ECOWAS stands at a critical juncture. Diop noted that geographical proximity, shared security, and socioeconomic challenges necessitate such cooperation.
Diop pointed out that ECOWAS and the AES countries share about 5,250 kilometers of borders, which facilitates extensive interactions among their populations. “We have no other choice, our brothers, our neighbors, our comrades have left us, but geography remains the same,” Diop stated. He underscored the necessity for solidarity and concerted efforts for mutual interests.
Furthermore, Diop identified terrorism, irregular migration, organized transboundary crime, and environmental challenges as shared threats requiring coordinated responses. Former ECOWAS Commission President, Dr. Omar Touray, during the handover, affirmed confidence in the regional organization, emphasizing that institutions must remain stronger than individuals.
Touray highlighted the numerous achievements of the previous management, including progress on regional infrastructure and connectivity projects such as the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline and the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway. He noted regional electricity interconnection, trade and transport corridors, economic and monetary integration, and programs targeting food security, youth, women, education, and skills development.
Touray mentioned the West African Rice Investment Roundtable initiative, which generated an investment pipeline of about 1.54 billion dollars, with firm commitments of 1.47 billion dollars. He also pointed out progress in connecting rural communities to national electricity grids under the regional electricity access project and the regional battery storage program.
President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Amb. Sola Enikanolaiye, urged the new ECOWAS leadership to prioritize regional integration, financial accountability, peace, and security. Tinubu stressed that the leadership transition at ECOWAS signifies continuity in the collective pursuit of regional integration.
He emphasized the need for an ECOWAS of citizens, not just governments, where artificial borders and narrow national interests do not hinder the bloc’s supranational objectives. The President reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to the progress, growth, and stability of ECOWAS, demanding greater financial probity and accountability from the organization.
Tinubu remarked, “For Nigeria, ECOWAS must continue to justify the huge investments and sacrifices that have been made, not just by the government and people of Nigeria, including the payment of community levy, but also by other member states in the sub-region to sustain the organization.”