By Mevlut Ozkan and Alioune Ndiaye
ISTANBUL/DAKAR, Senegal (AA) - The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) elected Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio as the bloc’s new chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government.
Bio succeeded Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Sunday on the sidelines of the 67th ordinary session of the organization held in Abuja, Nigeria.
He said he believed West Africa’s future is “not one of decline, but of possibility” as long as countries act with “courage, unity and moral clarity.”
Bio urged his counterparts to work together to build a "community of destiny" and stressed the need to reform ECOWAS to make it “more transparent, efficient and responsive to its people's needs.”
The summit -- the first ordinary session following ECOWAS’s 50th anniversary -- focused on regional security, economic stability and governance challenges.
In his opening remarks, outgoing chairman Tinubu emphasized the urgency of operationalizing a regional standby force. He called for enhanced intelligence-sharing and rapid-response mechanisms to address cross-border threats.
Tinubu also expressed optimism for the return of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) countries to ECOWAS and encouraged Bio to continue outreach efforts.
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger -- all currently led by military governments -- formed the AES in September 2023 through a treaty to deepen political, economic and security cooperation among the three West African nations.
Since then, the AES bloc has moved to redefine its regional and international ties, including recent withdrawals from both ECOWAS and the International Organization of La Francophonie.