President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has called for urgent and enforceable regional economic integration, describing the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as West Africa’s most viable safeguard against global marginalisation.
Addressing lawmakers at the Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja, Akpabio warned that a global climate shaped by protectionism, supply-chain nationalism and geopolitical rivalry leaves little space for fragmented economies.
Represented by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, he argued that regional integration must move beyond declarations to concrete implementation, stressing that trade agreements without legislative harmonisation, infrastructure readiness and security guarantees would remain largely symbolic.
He noted that seamless movement of goods across West African corridors — from Lagos to Accra and Dakar to Abidjan — remains constrained by bureaucratic bottlenecks, undermining the region’s integration aspirations.
Linking insecurity to economic stagnation, Akpabio described instability as a major impediment to intra-African trade. In a sub-region grappling with constitutional disruptions and security challenges, he suggested that deeper economic interdependence could serve as a stabilising force anchored on shared prosperity.
He urged national parliaments to align domestic legislation with regional commitments, dismantle regulatory inconsistencies and prioritise investments in transport and digital infrastructure to connect markets effectively.
For Nigeria, the region’s largest economy, Akpabio said leadership requires fostering shared uplift rather than dominance, acknowledging that Nigeria’s growth is intertwined with the stability of its neighbours.
He maintained that AfCFTA must translate into tangible outcomes in factories, farms, ports and digital platforms, empowering small-scale traders, promoting value addition and protecting cross-border commerce from corruption.
President of the ECOWAS Parliament, Mémounatou Ibrahima, similarly called for measurable action to reposition West Africa as a competitive economic bloc. She said the Parliament’s responsibility extends beyond representation to delivering peace, security and shared prosperity to more than 400 million citizens across the sub-region.
Describing AfCFTA as a historic instrument for structural transformation, Ibrahima noted that while ECOWAS possesses nearly five decades of integration experience, intra-regional trade remains below 10 per cent of total trade, with limited industrial capacity and continued dependence on raw commodity exports.
She identified key regional strengths, including a harmonised macroeconomic framework, a Common External Tariff and the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), but warned that delayed ratifications and weak national strategies could hinder coordinated implementation.
Ibrahima outlined three priorities for 2026: consolidating democracy and constitutional order, strengthening regional security cooperation and advancing women’s leadership. She also called for enhanced intelligence-sharing and effective deployment of the ECOWAS Standby Force to address terrorism and transnational crime.
Declaring the session open, she stressed that integration must be measured by expanded trade volumes, harmonised policies and improved livelihoods rather than rhetoric.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, urged member states to accelerate economic integration and reinforce institutional cooperation to confront emerging political, economic and security threats.
Represented by Ambassador Nonyelum Afoekelu, she described the parliamentary seminar — held as part of activities marking ECOWAS’ Golden Jubilee — as a strategic platform for recommitment to regional objectives.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu noted that ECOWAS has an existing foundation in the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), which could be harmonised with continental frameworks to fast-track AfCFTA implementation.
She emphasised the critical oversight role of the ECOWAS Parliament in ensuring ratification and harmonisation of trade legislation, adequate budgetary allocations, executive compliance and stronger engagement with private sector stakeholders.
As ECOWAS marks 50 years of regional cooperation, leaders at the session underscored that the future of West Africa’s competitiveness depends on translating integration commitments into concrete economic opportunities for businesses, traders and young entrepreneurs across the sub-region.
