Nigeria, others in ECOWAS single currency controversy
Six English-speaking members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have rejected the unilateral conversion of CFA Franc to Eco.
Guinea Bissau, a former colony of Portugal, also joined the Francophone states in the adoption of the proposed ECOWAS regional single currency and tying it to Euro.
Finance ministers and Governors of Central Banks from Nigeria, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone rose from a meeting in Abuja on January 16, 2020 and rejected action of the eight French speaking West African countries.
Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo on December 21, 2019, announced that they would be changing from the CFA to Eco.
In a communiqué on Thursday night, the governors of central banks and ministers from the English speaking countries, called for an extraordinary meeting of ECOWAS Heads of states and Government in the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) to discuss the matter.
“The meeting notes with concern, the declaration by the chairman of the authority of the heads of state and government of the West African Economic and Monetary Union on December 21, 2019, to unilaterally rename the CFA Franc as Eco by 2020,” the communique read.
“WAMZ convergence council wishes to emphasise that this action (is) not in line with the decision of the authority of heads of state and government of ECOWAS for the adoption of the Eco as the name of an independent ECOWAS single currency.
“WAMZ convergence council reiterates the importance for all ECOWAS member countries to adhere to the decisions of the ECOWAS authority of heads of state and government towards the implementation of the revised roadmap of the ECOWAS single currency programme.”
ECOWAS had proposed that the currency, Eco, would be launched in June 2020 and also adopted a flexible currency regime.