ECOWAS

Abuja, March 12, 2024: The plan for the realisation of a single currency, Eco, for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) by 2027 is unrealistic, the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) says on Monday.

Dr Olorunsola Olowofeso, the Director-General of WAMZ, said that the date was not realistic because all the WAMZ member-states have not met all the required criteria.

He spoke against the backdrop of the recently held 48th meeting of the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks of the member-states of the WAMZ in Abuja.

According to him, it is unlikely that any of the member-states will satisfy all four primary convergence criteria on a sustainable basis between 2024 and 2026.

“The quest for a single currency by WAMZ will take much longer to achieve as the convergence indicators have declined significantly.

“The assessment of member states’ performance reveals that, as of the end of June 2023, all member states failed to meet all the four primary convergence criteria.

“The zone’s performance score declined to 29.2 percent, compared to 41.7

percent during the same period in 2022,” he said.

He said that the medium-term projections on macroeconomic convergence suggested that none of the WAMZ member-states would meet all the primary convergence criteria sustainably between now and 2027 for the convergence phase of the ECOWAS Single Currency Roadmap.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, said that Nigeria remained committed to achieving the WAMZ objectives.

Edun said: “ I am sure we have the wherewithal and resilience to realise the WAMZ ambition.  

“We must, as a bloc, work together to strengthen and improve the economies of the zone ” he said.

WAMZ is a group of six countries within ECOWAS formed in 2000.

Member countries are Nigeria, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

At the ECOWAS 55th ordinary session in July 2019, the 15-member regional group agreed to launch single currency, Eco, in January 2020.

While eight, mostly francophone countries — Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau (Portuguese-speaking), Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo — announced in December 2019 that they would be changing from the CFA Franc to Eco, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia and Gambia, who are all English-speaking, as well as Guinea, a francophone country, rejected the adoption of Eco.

 Former President Muhammadu Buhari-led government had called for the extension of the take-off.

Nigeria’s position on the Eco currency is that the convergence criteria have not been met by majority of the countries,” the federal government had said then”.

Abuja, Feb. 29, 2024: The President of ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Toure, says the sub-regional bloc has achieved the aims and objectives for which it was formed by its founding fathers 49 years ago.

Toure made this known at a news conference on Wednesday, in Abuja to commence a weekly media engagement aimed at giving maximum publicity to ECOWAS activities going forward.

He expressed confidence that the new initiative would fast-track the dissemination of information and facilitate the media’s critical role as partners in the ECOWAS project, and breach observed gaps.

Toure noted that ECOWAS’ major success story was that over the last 49 years, it had been able to unite its 15 member states around its common objectives of socio-economic development through regional integration.

He said: “As captured in Article 3 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty, Member States have committed themselves to the promotion of integration, leading to the establishment of an economic Union in West Africa in order to raise the standard of living of its peoples.

“And, to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations among the Member States and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent.”

According to him, substantive progress has been made in the pursuit of the aims and objectives of establishing ECOWAS on May 27, 1975, touching all facets of the institution’s projects and programmes.

These, he said, included the rights of community citizens to reside and establish businesses within the Community, infrastructure development, harmonization of socio-economic and financial policies, promotion of peace, security and stability.

He enumerated these to include trade and free movement; infrastructure; energy, peace, security, democracy and justice; health; food security and fragility.

The president said that under free trade and movement, ECOWAS succeeded in creating a single market for members’ businesses under its ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme that was introduced in 1979.

“This immediately made the trade in unprocessed goods, traditional handicrafts free of any restrictions, tariffs, quotas and any encumbrances.

“The ECOWAS scheme means that food items, grains and animals produced within ECOWAS can be sold and consumed anywhere in the Community.

“In addition, manufactured goods in the region, which have a specified percentage of local content, can be traded freely within the Community without tariff, quota, and other forms of obstacles,” he said.

Toure said that in order to ease cross-border crossing, ECOWAS has been implementing joint border posts in the Community, which bring together border officials of two neighboring countries to carry out joint operations to ease crossing frontiers by traders and transporters.

“We have built this joint border between Nigeria and Benin at the Seme-Krake border and between Togo and Ghana at Noepe-Akanu border. Thanks to the financial support of the European Union, these borders posts are now operational.

“There is also another border post that has been made operational between Nigeria and Cameroon, at the Ekok-Mfun border, which was financed by the African Development Bank,” he said.

In terms of infrastructure, the President disclosed that ECOWAS established regional infrastructure policies and regulations for the physical integration of ECOWAS Member States, such as regional highways, railways and airways projects, and maritime transportation plans.

“The Abidjan-Lagos corridor is one of the biggest and busiest economic corridors in Africa. We are developing this highway and extending it to connect Abidjan and Praia via The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia,” he said.

Toure disclosed that ECOWAS had also engaged in major programmes in the energy sector, where a regional energy market was being developed under the West African Power Pool, which has enabled the sale and purchase of electricity among members.

“To support this market, regional electricity regulations have been developed and electricity projects interconnecting Member States are being implemented. Some have been completed linking Benin, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo,” he said.

The ECOWAS President noted that a cardinal success story of ECOWAS was its accomplishments in the promotion of regional peace, security and stability, especially through the ECOMOG peace-keeping interventions in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

“In the same vein, ECOWAS is also spending considerable resources on fighting terrorism in the region, while a major intervention is ongoing on maritime security,” he said.

In terms of food security and fragility, the Commission’s President  said that progress had been recorded in other areas, including the establishment of a regional Stabilization Fund in the Gambia and Guinea Bissau, to address fragility in the sub-region.

“In the agriculture sector, there are numerous coordinated interventions, such as the ECOWAS Rice Offensive, which seeks to reduce the region’s dependence on importation of rice,” he said.

The Commission’s President said that ECOWAS has also made giant strides in the health sector, prominent among which was the establishment of the West African Health Organisation (WAHO), a specialized institution to handle health issues in the region.

The need to maintain regional unity and security has been identifies as the major reasons for lifting sanctions on Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, by the Economic Community of West African State​s (ECOWAS).

The other reasons were the spiritual seasons of Christians’ Lent and the approaching month of Ramadan which would impact on citizens as well as the pleas received from prominent leaders, including retired Gen. Yakubu Gowon, former Nigeria’s Head of State.

President of the ECOWAS Commission, D​r Omar Touray, proffered the reasons on Saturday in Abuja at the end of the extraordinary session of the Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS.

”The authority takes note that the withdrawal will have political, social, socio economic, financial and institutional implications for the three countries as well as for ECOWAS as a region.

”The authority recall​s that within the framework of regional cooperation against terrorism, violent extremism and organised crime, the three countries benefited from about 100 million US dollars mobilised by UMR within the context of ECOWAS plan of action against terrorism.

”Moreover, some funds allocation, about 7.5 million U.S. dollars is being made towards supporting the three countries in acquiring the equipment to help their fight against terrorism.

”The withdrawal will affect security cooperation in terms of sharing intelligence and participation in regional counterterrorism initiatives.

”Such as the Accra initiative, and the Multinational Joint Task Force,’‘ he said.

Touray added that the withdrawal of the countries from the sub-regional bloc would lead to diplomatic and political isolation at the international scene where the countries have obtained support for their candidates in the contest for international positions.

”The authority recognises that the withdrawal will automatically affect the immigration status of the citizens, as they may be required to obtain visas to travel around the region.

”Citizens may no longer be able to reside or set up businesses under ECOWAS arrangement and may be subject to diverse national laws.

The three countries will cease to use ECOWAS passports across biometric national identity cards, and the brown card vehicle insurance.

”The authority recognises that the three member states represent 17.4

 per cent of the region’s 425 million population.

Even though they represent 10% of the region’s GDP, their departure will constitute a reduction of the market size of ​ECOWAS.

He said that the ​sanctions w​ere lifted to promote trade and benefits derived from​ several regional projects and programmes including the Regional Food Security Reserve.

”The regional support programme for powerful pastoralism in the Sahel, which is being funded by the World Bank to the tune of 215 million US dollars is also a project that benefits the three countries.

”The three countries also benefit from the Sahel regional irrigation support programme, which is being funded by the World Bank to the tune of 103 million US dollars.

”The three regional food systems resilient support programme in the amount of 230 million, funded by the World Bank is also benefiting the three countries.

”West African single identity and regional integration and inclusion project is another programme that the three countries benefit from.”

​He said that other projects the countries benefits from are the ECOWAS regional electricity market, West African Power Pool project, which links member states to a regional electricity grid for improved access to electricity.

He said not lifting the sanction would result in the halt or the suspension of all ECOWAS projects and programmes worth more than 500 million US dollars.

Touray said that the projects collectively valued at approximately 321.6 million U.S. dollars.

”Reviewing the implications at the institutional level, the authority notes that the withdrawal will not only require the closure of four regional entities in Burkina Faso, two regional bodies in Mali and one regional office in Asia.

”It will also affect the job security of some 130 ECOWAS staff who are citizens of the three countries. Currently 77 staff members are from Burkina Faso, 23 are from Mali, and 32 are from Niger.

ECOWAS lifted sanctions it imposed on Niger over the unconstitutional takeover of government in that country on July 26, 2023.

The July 2023 military putsch was the fifth successful one in Niger since its independence from France in 1960.

In the July 2023 coup Niger’s presidential guard removed and detained democratically-elected President Mohamed Bazoum.

ECOWAS Commission’s chairman, Gambia’s President Omar Touray announced the lifting of the sanctions at the end of the Extraordinary Session of the Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS member countries.

He said the decision was based on humanitarian considerations, the socio-economic impacts of the sanctions on Nigeriens and the security of the sub-region.

“The Authority calls for the immediate release of former President Bazoum and also calls on the transition authorities in Niger to provide an acceptable transition timetable to constitutional order.

“The Authority has resolved to lift with immediate effect sanctions imposed on Niger and has lifted the closure of land and air borders between it and ECOWAS member countries.

“No-Fly-Zone of all commercial flights to and from Niger is to be lifted. Suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS member states and Niger are to be lifted.

“Freezing of all service transactions including utility services is to be lifted. ​

“Freezing of assets of Niger in ECOWAS Central Bank is to be lifted. Freezing of assets of Niger and the state’s enterprises and parastatals in commercial banks is to be lifted,’’ he said.

​Touray said Niger had also been exempted from suspension of all financial assistance and transactions as well as travel ban placed on its officials and their family members.

​He explained that humanitarian considerations on the Lenten period and the upcoming holy month of Ramadan contributed to the lifting of the sanctions.

The Authority​, he said, also lifted sanctions regarding the recruitment of Malian citizens in statutory and professional positions within ECOWAS.

“The Authority has also resolved to lift financial and economic sanctions on the Republic of Guinea.

“It instructed the President of the Commission to invite Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali and Guinea to attend the technical, consultative and security meetings of ECOWAS.

“The authority calls on E​COWAS institutions, member states and other regional institutions to implement these decisions,’’ Touray said.

On the withdrawal by Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali from ECOWAS, Touray said the Authority urged the countries to reconsider the​ir decision.

He said this was in view of the benefits that the ECOWAS member states and their citizens enjoyed in the community.

The Authority expressed its concern over the socio- economic, political security and humanitarian impacts of the decision, particularly on the citizens of the three countries and on regional integration process, he said.

“The authority further urges the three member states to resort to dialogue, negotiations and mediation to address their concerns.

“The authority urges the three member states to adhere to the provisions of the 1993 revised.

“They should particularly consider the treaty relating to withdrawal, particularly the article that encourages ECOWAS to sustain its rapprochement and overtures towards the member states, Touray said.

He added that the Authority encouraged outreaches with traditional, religious leaders, eminent personalities, civil society and women leaders for the unity and security of the region.

The Authority reiterate​d the urgent need for ECOWAS to expedite the operations of its standby force to fight against terrorism in the sub-region, including the elements of the Multinational Joint Task Force and the Accra initiative.

In this regard, the Authority instructed the commission to convene the meeting of ministers of finance and defence to propose modalities for financing and equipping counterterrorism efforts.

The Malian coup took place on Aug. 18, 2020; that of Burkina Faso was on Sept. 30 of the same year, while that of Guinea took place on Sept. 5, 2021.

In the Guinean coup, President Alpha Condé was captured by the country’s armed forces.