President Bola Tinubu has been emerged as the Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
He was elected at the 63rd ordinary session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Bissau, the capital city of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau.
Upon his emergence on Sunday, he pledged to bear the responsibility of the office and run an inclusive administration of the regional organisation.
President Tinubu said ECOWAS must rise against coup d’etat, emphasising that it is a threat to peace and stunting the progress of the region which demands urgent and concerted actions.
“On peace and security, the threat has reached an alarming level, and needs urgent actions in addressing the challenges. Indeed, without a peaceful environment, progress and development in the region will continue to remain elusive. In this regard, we must remain committed to the utilisation of all regional frameworks at our disposal to address the menace of insecurity,” he declared.
The elected ECOWAS Chairman called for a collective action from member-states, pledging that under his leadership, frameworks will be harmonized to actualize the dreams of ECOWAS.
President Tinubu acknowledged that ECOWAS had developed a security architecture, which he noted, “covers a wide range of areas that involved kinetic and non-kinetic operations, including preventive diplomacy.
There is also the Regional Plan of Action on Fight against Terrorism 2020-2024 as well as the operationalization of the ECOWAS Standby Force on Fight Against Terrorism, he said.
Tinubu succeeds President Umaro Embalo of Guinea Bissau as ECOWAS Chairman.
