President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to become the next chairman
of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS.
Tinubu, who leaves Abuja on Saturday ahead of the Sunday
meeting of the heads of state of the regional political and economic bloc, is
expected to take over from President Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau, TheCable
quoting diplomatic sources reports.
The 63rd ordinary session of the authority of heads of state
and government will take place in Bissau, capital city of the Republic of
Guinea-Bissau.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari previously held the
position in 2018.
Tinubu, who succeeded Buhari as Nigerian president in May
2023, will be making his first international outing on the African continent at
the ECOWAS meeting.
He attended the summit for ‘A New Global Financing Pact’
hosted by French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris, France, in June.
The summit of the ECOWAS heads of state is expected to
address memoranda on pressing sub-regional issues, including a report of the
50th ordinary session of the mediation and security council covering security
challenges faced by the member countries, report of the 90th ordinary session
of ECOWAS council of ministers on the financial situation of the body, the
implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as well as
a report on the status of transition in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.
ECOWAS was formed in 1975 and currently has 15 member states
with a combined population of 387 million and nominal GDP of $816 billion.
The member states are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde,
Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger,
Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
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