President Bola Tinubu on Sunday in Accra, Ghana, highlighted the progress made so far by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the prevailing challenges of the region.

A statement on Sunday by Ajuri Ngelale, the president’s spokesman, said he highlighted the achievements of the bloc in the past one year at the sixth mid-year coordination meeting of the African Union while addressing African leaders on the status of ECOWAS.

Mr Tinubu, who is the chairman of ECOWAS Authority of heads of state and government, said the Community had activated a Standby Force to counter terrorism and would continue to explore funding options.

The president said ECOWAS had been supporting member states to enhance electoral and governance processes, and recently deployed election observation missions to Senegal and Togo – both of which elections were adjudged to be peaceful, transparent, and fair.

He also highlighted the facilitation of the signing of an agreement for national unity in Sierra Leone, noting that the sub-regional body would continue to work with stakeholders in the country to implement the provisions of the Agreement.

The president stated that consultations were ongoing to revise the ECOWAS 2001 Supplementary Protocol on democracy and good governance.

On economic integration, Mr Tinubu said ECOWAS had implemented activities to consolidate the free trade area, customs union, and common market.

“We supported six Member States in ratifying the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, and thirteen Member States have ratified the AFCFTA agreement.

“The ECOWAS interconnected System for the Management of Goods in Transit (SIGMAT) is also operational in twelve Member States,” the president stated.

Detailing the efforts on the humanitarian and social development front, Mr Tinubu said ECOWAS had allocated 9 million dollars to assist persons of concern, including refugees, internally displaced persons, and asylum seekers.

“The frontline Member States in the fight against terrorism have also been supported with 4 million dollars under the ECOWAS Counter Terrorism Humanitarian Response.

“On education, the West African Network of National Academies of Sciences, and the African Forum for Research and Innovation have been established.

“Our regional Academic Mobility Scheme has continued to equip the youth with practical skills and is harmonising education systems.

“While in the area of health, ECOWAS continues to provide support to women with obstetric fistula, empowered women entrepreneurs in agribusiness, and focused on gender equality in education and the green economy,” the ECOWAS chairman stated.

Foregrounding the progress on energy, mines, and agriculture, Mr Tinubu said ECOWAS was advancing electrification efforts in The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, and Mali through the ECOWAS-Regional Electricity Access Project (ECOREAP).

“It is also implementing the Regional Off Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP). 32 Solar Off Grid SMEs have been approved, including nine SMEs led by women.

“A total of 3 million dollars will be disbursed to finance the SMEs. More than 400 SMEs in 13 countries were trained in 2023 and 2024.

“To achieve sustainable electricity access within the ECOWAS and Sahel countries, we will provide a total grant of 38 million dollars to SMEs in Member States,” he said.

According to him, ECOWAS will extend this to Mauritania, Central African Republic, Chad and Cameroon through Commercial and Financial Institutions.

“An additional loan of 140 million dollars will also be made available to the solar SMEs.

“Within the period under review, ECOWAS has supported Experts from Member States in international meetings and negotiations on environmental issues, including environmental governance.

“We provided support to our members in the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the establishment of a regional carbon market,” said Mr Tinubu.

He explained that with respect to food security, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) had approved the instruments to operationalise the Regional Fund for Agriculture and Food (RFAF).

“A Regional Food Security was developed to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production.

“Furthermore, our support for pastoralism in the Sahel has targeted the improvement of animal health, with a record vaccination of over 490 million livestock.

“We have established common rules for controlling veterinary medicine products at borders. In addition, ECOWAS inaugurated a project for Member States to access the Green Climate Fund.

“This will promote climate-smart agriculture through the use of technologies,” the president said.

On other ECOWAS institutions, Mr Tinubu stated that the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament elected its first female President, the Right Honourable Maimunatu Ibrahim from Togo, and that The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice reviewed 15 new cases, held 33 court sessions, and delivered 11 judgements.

However, he noted that the bloc faced multiple threats, including member states withdrawing, geopolitical rivalries, terrorism, food insecurity, climate change, and the spread of misinformation and disinformation.

He said ECOWAS would continue to dialogue with Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger to maintain unity and would convene a Special Extra-ordinary Summit on the future of the Community.

“Finally, Your Excellencies, I am happy to report that the ECOWAS Commission has assumed the rotating Chairmanship of the Inter-REC platform since February this year.

“Earlier this year, the ECOWAS Commission hosted the East African Community (EAC) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), to exchange views on various issues and review best practices.

“We will continue to collaborate with all AU regional communities and mechanisms in order to strengthen our continental integration,” the President concluded.

On the sidelines of the AU meeting, Mr Tinubu held a bilateral meeting with President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti.

Mr Guelleh emphasised the importance of Nigeria’s role as a leader in West Africa and the continent.

He appealed for Nigeria’s support on development concerns and common challenges in his country.

Mr Tinubu and Mr Guelleh agreed to continue to work together to advance bilateral interests.

The mid-year coordination meeting was conceptualised in 2017 as the principal forum for the AU and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to align their work and coordinate the implementation of the continental integration agenda, replacing the June/July summits.

It is a meeting between the Bureau of the AU Assembly and Regional Economic Communities (RECs), with the participation of the Chairpersons of RECs, the AU Commission and Regional Mechanisms (RMs).

This year’s meeting was convened under the AU theme on Education, “Educate and Skill Africa for the 21st Century.” 

(NAN)