On Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari welcomed the newly elected head of the ECOWAS Commission and his management team, outlining the kind of regional organization that West African authorities must possess and aspire.
At the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the president spoke with Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, the newly Elected president, and the union.
‘I wish you success in your assignments, which we hope can collectively drive our sub-region to one that is economically integrated, politically stable, and socially in harmony with itself, to the admiration of our continent, and, indeed, global community.’
‘That is the ECOWAS we desire, and must have. You cannot afford to disappoint us.’
He claims that Nigeria, as the ECOWAS Commission’s host nation, anticipates the rigorous selection procedures that resulted in the new appointments “would impact on the fortunes of our Organisation.”
He mentioned this should be in terms of ‘efficient and effective service delivery that bears positive impact on the lives of our citizens.’
He continued by saying that the encouragement of economic cooperation between the member-States was foremost in the minds of the founding fathers when they convened on May 28, 1975, to establish ECOWAS.
According to him, this would improve people’s quality of life, thereby helping to propel the sub-region’s economy forward in a coordinated manner.
President Buhari stated that: ‘Forty-seven years after, this core objective for the formation of ECOWAS remains critically relevant to our national and sub-regional aspirations.’
‘Issues of inter-state cooperation and collaboration, harmonization of policies, integration of programs, conflict management and security of the sub-region, have continued to necessitate the need for our solidarity and collective responses to our common challenges.’
He mentioned issues including terrorism, health problems, climate change, effective governance, the durability of democracy built on the rule of law, and ultimately, progress and development for the people.
Buhari reminded the new Management Team that through people-centered initiatives, ECOWAS’ effects must be seen directly by its members.
He underlined that initiatives must involve strong advocacy for fundamental issues that the sub-region is concerned about.
‘May I emphasize the importance of teamwork and the necessity for the new Team to work assiduously to re-position ECOWAS in order to deliver to the expectations of our citizens,’ the president said.
He claimed that the sub-development region’s agenda 2050, which is influenced by the African Union Agenda 2063 and mindful of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda 2030, could be carefully adjusted to accomplish this.
‘With many Development Experts on your Team, I have no doubt that you will evolve appropriate partnerships and working relationships with Development Partners across the globe, to maximize opportunities for progress,’ he asserted.
Touray expressed her gratitude to Nigeria for supporting the new Team members’ applications.
He vowed that they will fulfill the demands of the leaders of West Africa because ‘as we are fully conscious of the priorities set for us.’
In order to achieve their goals, he promised to collaborate with member states “and make ECOWAS institutions what you want them to be.”