By Samuel Koku Anyidoho
Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama has received the new ECOWAS Commission management team led by the Commission’s President, Gen. Birame Diop (rtd), for discussions on wide-ranging issues, including elections, governance, peace and regional security.
The visiting delegation included the ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation, Amin Amidu Sulemani, Political and Diplomatic Affairs Advisor, Ambassador Isabelle Sandra Folquet, Economic Advisor, Professor Priscilla Twumasi Baffuor, ECOWAS Special Envoy on Counter Terrorism, Ambassador Baba Kamara, and ECOWAS Resident Representative in Ghana, Ambassador Mohammed Lawan Gana.
Ambassador Baba Kamara was appointed Special Envoy on counter-terrorism in 2023, and his mandate was renewed for an additional three years in July 2026 as the region tackles persisting security challenges.
President Mahama has received ECOWAS’ endorsement for his bid to assume the chairmanship of the African Union early next year. He congratulated Gen. Diop and other members of the new Commission management on their appointment, and enjoined them to remain loyal to their high offices, towards ensuring that ECOWAS moves in the right and positive direction.
Gen. Diop commended his predecessor at the Commission, Dr Omar Alieu Touray and his team for their achievements, and pledged that, with the support of regional leaders, he and his team would leverage ECOWAS legal instruments to improve the governance systems and the well-being of community citizens.
The meeting held at the Flagstaff House, Accra, on 11 November 2026, discussed various topics, including regional development, terrorism, managing youth and gender violence, as well as deepening ECOWAS’ core mandate and tackling emerging challenges.
It was part of Gen. Diop’s maiden regional tour since he assumed office on 31 August 2026.
A retired Senegalese Air Force General and former minister of the armed forces, Diop also served as an advisor to the UN Secretary-General on peacekeeping and regional security governance.
The ECOWAS delegation also paid a courtesy call on Ghana’s former President Nana Akufo-Addo, and thanked him for his support to ECOWAS during his eight-year tenure as President and as Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of Government from September 2020 to July 2022.
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