Nigeria’s Buhari elected new chairman of ECOWAS

President Muhammadu Buhari was been made chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the just concluded ECOWAS Summit in Lomé, Togo. This is according to a tweet by his media aide, Bashir Ahmad.

A communiqué issued at the close of the 53rd Ordinary Summit of ECOWAS Heads of State said that its aim “was to create conditions for sustainable peace and a secured environment in the common area of the two regions”.

President Muhammadu Buhari has been elected the new Chairman of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the just concluded ECOWAS Summit in Lome, Togo.

The announcement was made shortly after a closed session of Heads of State of the Commission. pic.twitter.com/W6Y5gOqPft

— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) July 31, 2018

Advertisement

Malam Garba Shehu, the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, said in a statement, “In his acceptance remarks, the Nigerian leader, who thanked his colleagues for his election, noted that he had not offered himself for the post, ‘but you refused to take my no for an answer’.”

Buhari told his fellow leaders that he was “truly humbled and pledged to serve and work with all of you to deliver on peace, security, good governance and socio-economic development” in the sub-region, and “take our organisation to greater heights”.

Read: Ecowas vs SADC? Comparison is Good, Context Still Matters

The statement continued: “President Buhari also commended his immediate predecessor and president of Togo, Faure Gnassingbe, for successfully hosting two important meetings of the Joint Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and ECOWAS, as well as the 53rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS.”

The last chairman from Nigeria was Goodluck Jonathan, who held the position from 2010 to 2012.