Tinubu presides over 66th ECOWAS meeting in Abuja, asks leaders to learn from Ghana’s democratic practice

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has presided over the 66th meeting of the Ordinary Heads of States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja.

The meeting which took place at the Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa was attended 11 other presidents from the West African bloc.

Tinubu hosted the meeting in his capacity as Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, a position he assumed in June 2023. He was re-elected for a second one-year term in June 2024.

The meeting comes amidst rising tensions, particularly following the announcement by Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger of their decision to withdraw from ECOWAS in January 2024.

The three nations accused the regional bloc of abandoning its founding ideals and yielding to external influences, criticising sanctions imposed to reverse their respective military coups.

This withdrawal follows a series of military takeovers in Mali (2020 and 2021), Burkina Faso (2022), and Niger (2023), which led to their suspension from ECOWAS and strained relations with the bloc.
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In response, the withdrawing states formed the Alliance of Sahel States, a new regional bloc prioritising defence and mutual support. They have also distanced themselves from traditional Western allies, particularly France, and have sought closer ties with Russia.

In September 2024, Burkina Faso introduced a new biometric passport without the ECOWAS emblem, further solidifying its withdrawal. This development has raised questions about the future of ECOWAS, which marks its 50th anniversary in 2025.

Meanwhile, Tinubu in his opening speech at the Sunday’s session urged the ECOWAS leaders to emulate Ghana’s democratic practice following a successful presidential and parliamentary elections in the country.

Former President John Mahama was reelected to lead Ghana once again last Saturday, defeating the incumbent Vice President, Mahamud Bawumia, who called to congratulate the winner even before the official results were declared.

The Nigerian president said that what happened in Ghana is worthy of emulation by other countries in the region.

He hailed the incumbent President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, who is attending the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government for the last time as President, for the successful election.

“Just a week ago on the 7th of December 2024, presidential election and parliamentary elections took place in Ghana which is the second largest democracy in our region. One of the leading candidates who happens to be the incumbent Vice President, His Excellency Mahamud Bawumia, together with the leading party, New Patriotic Party (NPP) conceded defeat and accepted the outcome of the election by congratulating the President-elect, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama of National Democratic Congress (NDC) for his victory even before the announcement of the official results.

This gesture as it happened in Nigeria in 2015 demonstrated political maturity and respect for the wish of the people of Ghana. Today, we have the man I will refer to as Mr Democrat, I congratulate the President Nana Akufo -ddo and the people of Ghana for the successful elections and urge all of us in the region to learn from this good democratic practice and prioritise our countries’ national unity to ensure political stability of the region that this manner of peaceful transition recalls the culture of democracies not only in West Africa but also in the entire African continent,” Tinubu said.

The Nigerian leader also commended Senegal for a successful conduct of parliamentary elections recently.

Tinubu called for cooperation among the ECOWAS member states in protecting their citizens and providing an enabling environment for the citizens to thrive.

He said raising the living standards of the citizens is an obligation on the part of the citizens.

The ECOWAS chairman, however, noted that the economic cooperation has been bolstered by the various ECOWAS policies.