President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday urged leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to strengthen their economic cooperation and support intra-regional trade in order to fully explore the opportunities of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for holistic socio-economic transformation of the sub-region.
Tinubu, who gave the charge during the launch of a series of events commemorating ECOWAS’ Golden Jubilee in Accra, Ghana, outlined a vision of ECOWAS as a “Community of People” rather than just a community of states.
Represented at the forum by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Ojukwu, the President harped on the need for leaders of the West African countries to prioritize economic integration, education, innovation, and skill development to fully unlock the continent’s future potential.
Tinubu, who is the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, appealed to his counterparts to adopt policies that will improve the living standards of the citizens, enhance education systems, and foster greater economic collaboration.
- Advertisement -
He said: “Today, we celebrate numerous remarkable achievements that distinguish ECOWAS as the most successful regional economic community on the African continent.
“In five decades, we have established one of Africa’s most vibrant free trade areas, fostering intra-regional commerce and lifting millions from poverty”, the President added.
Noting that though the sub-regional body has recorded some achievements based on the goals set for it, Tinubu maintained that despite this, the ECOWAS member-countries had been contending with sundry challenges, including political instability, economic hardship, infrastructure deficits, and insecurity.
Even then, he maintained that despite these obstacles, the sub-regional leaders must remain committed to economic development, stability, and prosperity.
The President recalled: “We have faced political instability, economic hardship, infrastructure deficits, and security threats. But we remain undaunted. Despite our shared vision, too many of our citizens still live in poverty, too many of our children lack access to quality education, and too many of our youth remain unemployed, disillusioned, or forced to seek opportunities abroad.”
Speaking at the event, the President of Ghana, John Mahama, canvassed the imperativeness of investing in human capital investment by the member-countries of ECOWAS, adding that the sub-regional body should be seen as a living organization rather than a bureaucratic institution.
To demonstrate his administration’s commitment to human capital development in the sub-region, he announced that Ghana would provide 1,000 scholarships to university students across the ECOWAS sub-region to empower the youths for competitiveness in the increasingly dynamic global space.
