Nigeria offers $100m to ECOWAS anti-terrorism action plans

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the immediate remittance of $100 million to support the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS, battle against terrorism

This is just as the President also called the ECOWAS Commission to reduce the over bloated administrative structures in line with current economic realities facing the region.

President Buhari, speaking at the virtual ordinary summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, on Saturday night, described as “worrisome”, the ravaging effect of terrorism and violent extremism, which has increased the spare of violent attacks by terrorists and other criminal elements across the region.

The Nigerian leader said he has already “ directed the immediate remittance of the sum of $20 million pledged by Nigeria to the pool account of the ECOWAS Action Plan to fight terrorism while the sum of $80 million is to be disbursed for the fight against terrorism in the Northeast and banditry in the Northwest of Nigeria”

The Nigerian leader condemned terrorism and violence that has resulted in the displacement of million of citizens in the region and destruction of the economy as well as the loss of lives.

“The region needs to commence immediate implementation of ECOWAS action plan on the fight against terrorism. We urge member states to pay their voluntary contribution into the fund dedicated to the implementation of the 2020/2024 Action plyan.

Buhari, who was represented by the Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, reminded leaders of the region to take firm actions to check the deadly second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Your Excellencies may recall the damage that the first wave of the pandemic on the health and the socioeconomic sectors of our region. Now that vaccines are soon to be available, I call on all member states to ensure that we prioritise the acquisition of the vaccines for our citizens while at the same time increasing efforts to develop our own vaccines so that we can build hard immunities against the COVID-19 pandemic in West Africa.

“We urge the ECOWAS Commission to work with WAHO, the West African Health Organisation to assist member states in acquiring the vaccines and provide facilities to store and distribute the vaccines within the region.

“Efforts should also be accelerated for the region to start producing rapid diagnostic test kits of international standards to be made available to all member states. It is important for the region to evolve effective measures and avoid total lockdown at this critical time that our economies are gradually recovering from the first wave of the pandemic.

Speaking further on the economic challenges facing the region, Buhari called on the Ecowas leaders to reduce the number of the current management of the ECOWAS Commission, in line with current realities

“Therefore, as the tenure of the current management of ECOWAS comes to an end by February 2020, the organization must adjust to conform with current realities, adding that, a situation where ECOWAS has 23 statutory appointees, of which 13 are Commissioners “for this Commission is totally unsustainable”

There is need for lean and compact leadership in ECOWAS, which will enhance efficiency and performance of the organization. It will also eliminate overlapping and that is to say tussle between the large statutory appointees and reduce personnel and overhead cost that could be channeled to the execution of developmental projects.

Buhari urged ECOWAS to take a queue from the African Union, a larger continental organization of 55 members which has pruned down its commissioners to only six,

He noted that there is “no basis, whatsoever, for ECOWAS, with only 15 members, to maintain 13 commissioners and 10 other statutory appointees. Accordingly, Nigeria recommends the immediate appointment of a ministerial adhoc committee to review the proposal of the Maxwells Temp Report and submit a recommendation during the mid-year summit for our our consideration and adoption.”

“If, however, some countries are not in favour of this, then each country must sponsor its own statutory appointee and this is practiced by other organizations such as the European Union and other regional organizations.

The Maxwells Temp Report, had already envisaged that even with the lean number of statutory appointees, each member country will still have a representative on the management of ECOWAS.

“We believe that this should satisfy our desire to have a sense of belonging the community’s institutions and also to enhance our spirit of solidarity.

“Your Excellencies, at 45, ECOWAS is expected to be an accomplished regional organization, therefore it is time for us to be taking the right and bold decisions to enhance the performance of the organization. This is to fulfill the aspirations of its founding fathers and effectively serve the citizens of our community, to consolidate our prime position as the best subregional organization on the African continent.”

President Buhari also used the opportunity to commiserate with the ECOWAS Commission on the demise of its Secretary General, Nelson Magbagbeola, who he described as “ a committed, hardworking and dedicated officer of the Commission”