The Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has re-appointed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo chairman of the Bloc.
The Authority, at its extraordinary session held on Tuesday, February 2, 2021, unamimously agreed that President Akufo-Addo steers the affairs of the body for another one-year term, to oversee the implementation of the institutional reforms aimed at improving the corporate governance of the sub-regional body.
President Akufo-Addo was first elected Chairman of the 15-member economic bloc in September 2020 by the 57th Ordinary Session of the Authority to direct its activities for a year.
A communique issued at the end of the meeting said the Heads of State and Government praised President Akufo-Addo “for his leadership in steering the affairs of the Community”, and called on him to, with the support of the Ministerial Ad hoc Committee on institutional reforms, lead a reflection on the issues, and submit a report to Authority’s next ordinary session to be held June 2021.
The Authority’s Tuesday’s Extraordinary Session, chaired by President Akufo-Addo, was in preparation for the 34th ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union on the election of the new management team of the African Union Commission.
According to the Communique, the Heads of State and Government Session took note of the memorandum on the selection of the Chairperson of the African Union for the 2022-2023 period and the proposed mechanism for the nomination of countries in coming years.
The Authorty paid heed also to the Report of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers on the harmonisation of Member States’ applications for positions in international organisations, and gave attention to the Memorandum on the implementation of the ECOWAS institutional reform.
Fourteen ECOWAS heads of State took part in the Session, including Roch Marc Christian Kabore of Burkina Faso, Jorge Carlos de Almeida Fonseca of the Republic of Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire’s Alassane Ouattara, Ghana’s Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Prof. Alpha Conde of Guinea, Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea Bissau, and George Manneh Weah of Liberia.
The rest are Macky Sall of Senegal, Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, Togo’s Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, Yemi Osinbajo, Vice-President of Nigeria, Brigi Rafini, Prime Minister of the Republic of Niger, Moctar Ouane, Prime Minister of Transition of the Republic of Mali, and Aurélien Agbenonci, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Benin.
The session was also attended by Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, President of ECOWAS Commission.