President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been elected 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.

Speaking after he was elected, Tinubu promised his “unalloyed commitment” to providing purposeful leadership and serving the interest of the community.

“Indeed, I’m humbled and honoured by this trust, and want to assure you of my unalloyed commitment to provide the necessary leadership with dedication to serve the interest of the community,” he said.

He also called for collective actions from member-states to combat insecurity and terrorism affecting the progress and development of the region.

“On peace and security, the threat has reached an alarming level, and needs urgent actions in addressing the challenges,” Tinubu said.

“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,”

Tinubu is the eighth Nigerian leader to be elected chairman of ECOWAS — Buhari headed the bloc twice, as military head of state and then as a democratic president.

The ECOWAS summit in Guinea-Bissau was Tinubu’s first international outing on the African continent since he became Nigerian president on May 29.

He had attended the summit for ‘A New Global Financing Pact’ hosted by  Emmanuel Macron, French president, in Paris, France, in June.

ECOWAS was formed in 1975 and currently has 15 member states with a combined population of 387 million and nominal GDP of $816 billion.

Member states are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

The Cable