President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been re-elected to serve another year as chairperson of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
President Tinubu, who was re-elected during the 65th Ordinary Session of the Authority, held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, also announced the President of Senegal, Bassirou Faye, as Special Envoy of the ECOWAS Commission to mediate with the leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced their exit from the community earlier in the year.
President Faye, according to President Tinubu, will run the new task alongside Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar.
Speaking at the end of the 65th Ordinary Session of the Authority, President Tinubu accepted the task of his re-election, promising to serve with his utmost best.
“Having a new mandate, I will request Faye of Senegal to please become our special envoy alongside Tuggur, to do a round-the-clock work with our brothers Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger and coordinate with me, if necessary, and with the commission.
“Thank you very much. There’s no need for long speeches any more now that I’ve accepted to continue in the service with great members and great minds that are committed to democratic value and journey for us in the region.
“I’ll continue my utmost best to serve our interests and build on the democratic value and the structure that we inherited”, he said.
Let me underscore that a peaceful and secure society is essential for achieving our potential. As we move to operationalize the ECOWAS Standby Force (ESF) in combating terrorism, I must emphasize that the success of this plan requires not only strong political will but also substantial financial resources.
“We must, therefore, ensure that we meet the expectations and recommendations set forth by our Ministers of Defence and Finance in order to counter insecurity and stabilize our region,’’ the President added.
He advised ECOWAS leaders to leverage the capabilities of Nigeria’s National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), which has been widely acknowledged as one of the best in the continent.
