The 62nd ECOWAS Summit Ends in Abuja–Fight Against Terrorism, Unconstitutional Change in Government High on Agenda

Embassy of Liberia, Abuja, Nigeria

(Abuja, December 5, 2022) Unconstitutional changes in Government, terrorism, and the status of the transitions in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina were deliberated by the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government at their just concluded 62nd Ordinary Summit in Abuja, Nigeria, on December 4.

President George Weah was represented at the Summit by Hon. Henry B. Fahnbulleh, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs. He was accompanied by Liberia’s Permanent Representative to ECOWAS, Dr. Al-Hassan Conteh.

Terrorism has recently been a bane in the ECOWAS region, especially in the Sahelian States of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. The situation is explosive in Burkina Faso, where non state actors are reportedly occupying about half of the country.

The ECOWAS Authority is determined to reverse this dismal situation.  They discussed several options, including the activation of the ECOWAS Standby Force, under the direction of ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence Staff to confront the menace.

The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, was sworn-in by the President of the Community Court of Justice for a four-year tenure. The members of his team, including his Vice President, and seven Commissioners were sworn in earlier at the 89th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council Ministers in Abuja on December 1. The new Director Genetal of GIABA, the West Africa Anti money laundering Agency, Mr. Edwin Y. Harris, was also part of the solemn occasion.

Addressing the Heads of State, the new ECOWAS President outlined his administration’s  four-point agenda including regional economic development based on a shared prosperity of the region under ECOWAS Vision 2050.

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, together with President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, and the Chair of the ECOWAS Authority, President Umaro Sissoko Embalo of Guinea Bissau, broke ground, prior to the Summit, for the new Headquarters of  ECOWAS Commission near Abuja.

The People’s Republic of China will construct the new  ECOWAS headquarters  tagged “The Eye of West Africa,” as a gift to the people of ECOWAS. Planned to be ready in 24 months, it will host the ECOWAS Commission, the ECOWAS Parliament, and the Community Court of Justice.

The next Ordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Authority will be held in Guinea Bissau at a date to be announced shortly.