President Bola Tinubu Addresses African Leaders On ECOWAS Progress, Challenges

President Bola Tinubu on Sunday addressed African leaders about the current state of ECOWAS and highlighted the bloc's progress over the past year and discussed the challenges Accra, the capital of Ghana, faces.

Speaking at the Sixth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the African Union, Tinubu - who chairs the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government - noted that ECOWAS has set up a Standby Force to tackle terrorism and is exploring funding options.

He mentioned that ECOWAS has been helping member states improve their elections and governance. The bloc recently sent Election Observation Missions to Senegal and Togo, where the elections were deemed peaceful, transparent and fair.

Tinubu also talked about ECOWAS's role in facilitating the signing of a National Unity Agreement in Sierra Leone and emphasized that the organization will continue to work with stakeholders to implement this Agreement.

He revealed that discussions are going on to update the ECOWAS 2001 Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.

"We supported six Member States in ratifying the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, and thirteen Member States have ratified the AFCFTA agreement," Tinubu said, as per the State House website.

He added, "The ECOWAS interconnected System for the Management of Goods in Transit (SIGMAT) is also operational in twelve Member States. The frontline Member States in the fight against terrorism have also been supported with USD4 million under the ECOWAS Counter Terrorism Humanitarian Response."

Regarding education, the president highlighted that the West African Network of National Academies of Sciences and the African Forum for Research and Innovation have been established.

The regional Academic Mobility Scheme continues to provide practical skills to the youth and work towards harmonizing education systems. When it comes to health, ECOWAS supports women with obstetric fistula, empowers women entrepreneurs in agribusiness and promotes gender equality in education and the green economy.

Tinubu also said ECOWAS has earmarked $9 million to help persons of concern, including refugees, internally displaced persons, and asylum seekers.

On energy, mines and agriculture, Tinubu stressed that ECOWAS is working on electrification projects in The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Mali through the ECOWAS-Regional Electricity Access Project (ECOREAP).

The Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP) is in progress including funding 32 Solar Off-Grid SMEs, with 9 of them led by women and a total of 3 million US dollars will be allocated to support these businesses, as per the president.

Over 400 SMEs in 13 countries received training in 2023 and 2024.

"With respect to food security, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has approved the instruments to operationalize the Regional Fund for Agriculture and Food (RFAF). A Regional Food Security was developed to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production," the president said.

Earlier this month, Tinubu introduced new steps to tackle high food prices in Nigeria, noting that these measures will roll out over 180 days.