ABUJA, NIGERIA-The 95th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers and the 68th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government have commenced in Abuja, Nigeria.
The summit provides a platform for ECOWAS member states to review the region’s political and security landscape, assess progress on community programmes, and take decisions to guide the regional body in the coming years.
According to our reporter covering the Summit, ECOWAS Council of Ministers and Authority of Heads of State and Government are expected to discuss pertinent issues, including peace and security, democratic governance, trade facilitation, economic cooperation, and institutional reforms.
They will also adopt key decisions that will constitute the agenda for the 68th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, set for Sunday, December 14, in Abuja
Meanwhile, the regional body is expected to advance strategies to remedy the recent attempted coup in Benin and the military takeover in Guinea-Bissau.
ECOWAS Resident Representative to Liberia, Josephine Nkrumah, is calling for more political will to address the rising security threats in the region.
Ambassador Nkrumah also wants governments of ECOWAS member States to work in the interest of their citizens to safeguard the region from a potential coup.
The ECOWAS Envoy spoke in an ELBC interview recently, on the sidelines of the ongoing 95th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Council of Ministers and the 68th Ordinary Session of Authority of Heads of State and Government in Abuja.
The ECOWAS Summit is providing a platform for ECOWAS Member States to review the region’s political and security landscape, assess progress, and take decisions to guide the regional body in the coming years.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Nkrumah has assured ECOWAS’s commitment to working along with governments in ECOWAS member states for the advancement of West Africa.
At the same time, ECOWAS Resident Representative to Sierra Leone, John Azuma, is proposing the inclusion of West African media entities in the regional body’s operations.
Ambassador Azumah believes such an endeavor will empower West African media to adequately disseminate the fundamental principles of ECOWAS.
The ECOWAS Envoy told ELBC on Wednesday in Abuja that including West African media entities in the Regional Bloc’s operation will also promote good governance in the region.
He attributed the increasing wave of military takeover in West Africa to the lack of proper information dissemination in ECOWAS member states.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Azumah says the ECOWAS mediation mission constituted recently is advancing efforts to restore constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau.