Governance
President Akufo-Addo of Ghana Emerges as New ECOWAS Chair By DAVID IORJA and JACOB KUBEKA
Ghanaian President and new ECOWAS Chair, Nana Akufo-Addo GHANAIAN PRESIDENT, NANA AKUFOADDO, in Niamey, Niger Republic emerged as the new Chairman of the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS). His appointment took place at the 57th summit hosted by the outgoing ECOWAS Chairman, President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger at the Mahatma Gandhi International Conference Centre. The summit was attended by leaders within and outside the region with matters on the 44th Ordinary Session of the Mediation and Security Council and the 84th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers top on the agenda. Akufo-Addo’s appointment was swiftly announced by Ghana’s Information Ministry with a tweet on its Twitter handle, “President @NAkufoAddo has just
50
September-October 2020
been elected as the new Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), at the ongoing 57th ECOWAS Summit, which is being held in Niamey, capital of Niger.” Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, at the Niamey summit, appealed to his fellow ECOWAS leaders not to elongate their tenure in office beyond constitutional limits. President Buhari, who made the call while presenting Nigeria’s General Statement at the 57th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, urged his colleagues to respect constitutional provisions and ensure free and fair elections. Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), Garba Shehu, quoted the Nigerian President as saying “it is important that as leaders of our individual Member-States of ECOWAS, we
DAWN
www.africabusinessassociation.org
