Member nations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have re-elected Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu as the Chairman of the regional bloc. Tinubu was first elected Chairman of ECOWAS in Guinea-Bissau in July 2023, a few weeks after assuming office as Nigeria’s President.
Tinubu was re-elected at the 65th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Sunday, July 7, 2024. His current tenure will end on July 9, 2024, one year after his unanimous endorsement by Heads of State and Government at the 63rd Ordinary Session in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, in 2023.
In his acceptance speech, Tinubu said, “I have accepted to continue to deliver on this service with the great men and women on this democratic journey, to serve our interest and build democratic values on the structure we inherited.”
Earlier in his opening remarks at the summit, Tinubu urged ECOWAS members to make financial commitments to help in the campaign to rid the region of terrorism and other violent crimes. He emphasized the need for strong political will and substantial financial resources to operationalize the ECOWAS Standby Force (ESF) in combating terrorism.
“We must therefore ensure that we meet the expectations and recommendations set forth by our ministers of defence and finance in order to counter the insecurity and stabilize our region. Member states must make extra commitments to providing resources for stabilizing the region,” he said.