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Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has said that the 50th anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) would usher in new vistas for the regional body.
The minister made the remarks at the Roundtable Conference, convened under the theme: “ECOWAS, An African Model @ 50: Resilience and Future Prospects,” at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos, as part of activities marking the golden jubilee of the regional body.
This is as former Nigerian leader and surviving founding father of ECOWAS, General Yakubu Gowon (retd) and ex-Minister of External Affairs, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi, declared that Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, the three member states, which recently exited the ECOWAS and formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), could still return to the fold.
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Gowon chaired the event, which featured Akinyemi as keynote speaker, while the discussants were key players in the affairs of the continent, including President of ECOWAS, Dr Alieu Touray; former President of ECOWAS, Dr Ibn Chambas; former Prime Minister of Guinea, Lansana Kouyate; and Vice Chairperson of African Union Commission, Selma Malika Haddadi, among others.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu charged participants to renew their commitment to the shared responsibility, and uphold the enduring principles of unity, peace, and development, which was the bedrock of the regional integration efforts.
She paid glowing tributes to the founding fathers, especially Gowon. She noted that the contributions of the lead speaker; Akinyemi and the discussants, had enriched their collective reflection and reaffirmed the enduring relevance of the shared vision.
Akinyemi, who listed the numerous achievements of ECOWAS, particularly, in peacekeeping, free movement of people and goods, regional integration and peer review, urged the remaining members to be compassionate with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
The ECOWAS President, Dr Alieu Touray, stressed that the three exited member states of ECOWAS were key to the security of the region, including the free movement of people and regional integration.
