The new President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, General Birame Diop, has pledged sustained engagement with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, declaring that the regional bloc has no option but to pursue cooperation and reconciliation with the three Sahel nations that withdrew from ECOWAS.
Diop, who assumed office on Monday, made the commitment in Abuja during the formal handover ceremony from the outgoing President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Alieu Touray.
The new ECOWAS chief acknowledged the scale of the crisis confronting regional integration and said rebuilding unity across West Africa would be a major priority of his administration.
“We have no other choice, because our brothers, our neighbours, our comrades have left us, but geography remains the same,” Diop said.
He stressed that political differences could not erase the geographical, economic and security ties binding ECOWAS and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), comprising Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
According to him, ECOWAS and the AES countries share about 5,250 kilometres of borders, across which millions of people continue to move, trade and maintain social and economic ties.
Diop said terrorism, organised transnational crime, irregular migration and environmental challenges do not respect political boundaries, making cooperation between the two regional blocs unavoidable.
“So we have no other choice than to work in a solidary, concerted manner for the interest of both spaces,” he said.
The ECOWAS Commission President described the organisation as being at a critical crossroads and called for renewed commitment among member states and institutions to restore confidence in the regional integration project.
He said the Commission must operate as a united and committed team capable of responding effectively to the growing security and socioeconomic pressures confronting West Africa.
“We must have a Commission that is engaged, a Commission that is solidary, a Commission that looks in the same direction,” Diop said.
His call for renewed engagement with the AES states received support from Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, who represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the ceremony.
Enikanolaiye described Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger as “our brothers and sisters in our shared region and with common challenges and aspirations,” urging the new ECOWAS leadership to intensify efforts towards reconciliation.
He also called for an ECOWAS driven by the interests of ordinary citizens rather than governments, arguing that regional integration would have limited meaning if West Africans continued to face obstacles to movement, trade, employment and security.
“ECOWAS must become an ECOWAS of citizens and not of governments,” he said.
The minister, however, stressed that Nigeria’s substantial financial commitment to the regional bloc must be matched by greater accountability, prudent resource management and efforts to eliminate waste and operational leakages.
“For Nigeria, ECOWAS must continue to justify the huge investments and sacrifices that have been made, not just by the government and people of Nigeria, including the payment of community levy, but also by other member states in the sub-region to sustain the organisation,” he said.
Beyond relations with the AES states, Diop will also inherit the challenge of resolving the political situation in Guinea-Bissau.
He disclosed that ECOWAS leaders had designated Senegal as facilitator following a recent meeting in Lungi and said the Commission would work closely with Dakar to support efforts towards a resolution.
Diop said the implementation of ECOWAS Vision 2050 would serve as a major framework for repositioning the organisation, with priorities including institutional efficiency, stronger cohesion, innovative financing and the implementation of more than 50 programmes developed by the regional bloc.
Meanwhile, the outgoing Commission President, Touray, defended the record of his four-year administration, saying it took office during a particularly difficult period marked by military coups, terrorism, violent extremism, humanitarian crises and economic challenges.
He highlighted progress on several major regional infrastructure and development initiatives, including the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway, electricity interconnection projects, and regional trade and transport corridors.
Touray also pointed to preparations for the proposed launch of the ECO currency in 2027 and said the West Africa Rice Investment Roundtable had generated an investment pipeline of about $1.54 billion, including $1.47 billion in firm commitments.
He further listed the completion of the new ECOWAS headquarters complex in Abuja, supported by China, and the establishment of the ECOWAS Logistics Depot for peace and support operations in Sierra Leone among the achievements of his administration.
Touray, however, said one of the most delicate challenges inherited by the new leadership would be managing the withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, including issues surrounding the closure and transfer of ECOWAS assets and offices in the three countries.
He urged Diop to remain focused on the ultimate purpose of regional integration: improving the lives of West African citizens.
“Our citizens do not experience ECOWAS through communiqués and protocols. They experience ECOWAS when they cross borders without unnecessary obstacles, when they trade with neighbouring countries, when they find employment and their children receive opportunities, when their communities are secure, and when they can move freely across our region,” Touray said.
He ended his tenure with a message of “Unity, Continuity and Hope,” declaring that despite political divisions, West Africa’s shared future remained inseparable.
“Our borders may divide our territories, but they do not divide our destiny,” he said.
