President Bola Tinubu, on Sunday, formally concluded his tenure as Chairperson of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
In his place, Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio, was elected as the new chair of the regional bloc.
Tinubu made the announcement during the 67th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority, held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
He said, “It has been a profound honour and privilege to lead this esteemed body, and I remain deeply humbled by the trust and support you have extended to me throughout my channel as I now hand over the mantle of leadership to my great friend and dear brother, His Excellency, President Julius Bio of Sierra Leone.
“I do so with a deep sense of fulfilment and of commitment for the future of West Africa.”
Before handing over, Tinubu expressed concern over the slow pace of activating the ECOWAS Standby Force and urged West African leaders to move swiftly from concept to reality in the collective fight against terrorism and transnational crimes.
“I am a little bit worried about the slow pace of its (ECOWAS Standby Force) activation, which is taking longer than desired,” the President said in his opening speech.
In April 2024, Tinubu first called for the creation of a regional standby force and a counter-terrorism centre to degrade the activities of terrorists in Africa’s most troubled spots.
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He said the counter-terrorism centre would be a hub for intelligence sharing, operational coordination and capacity building throughout Africa.
The Nigerian leader cited ransom-taking and illegal mining as “evil branches” nourished by “root causes” such as poverty, inequality and social injustice, which finance, re-equip and re-supply terrorist networks all over the continent.
President Tinubu told heads of state and senior government officials at the African High-level Meeting on Counter-Terrorism in Abuja on April 22, 2024, that a fully operational Regional Counter-Terrorism Centre was urgently needed and was key to collective efforts against terrorism.