From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja for Lagos on Tuesday to join other regional leaders in marking the 50th anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a milestone event for West African integration and cooperation, according to a statement issued by Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
The celebrations, which were officially launched last month in Accra, Ghana, will reach a high point in Lagos with a series of high-profile events.
President Tinubu, who currently chairs the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, will highlight the economic bloc’s achievements and its enduring commitment to regional peace, security, and prosperity.
At the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in Victoria Island, the 1975 ECOWAS declaration will be reenacted, recalling the historic moment when 15 West African leaders gathered to establish the bloc. The Chairman of the NIIA and former Minister of External Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, will review ECOWAS’s five-decade journey, with expert panels at the NIIA providing further analysis.
The gala event at Eko Hotels and Suites will feature a keynote address by General Yakubu Gowon (rted), the only surviving Head of State who signed the original ECOWAS declaration. President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, will deliver the welcome address.
President Tinubu, in his capacity as ECOWAS Chairman, is expected to underscore the organization’s role as a beacon of hope for over 400 million West Africans. “Today, we celebrate numerous remarkable achievements that distinguish ECOWAS as the most successful regional economic community on the African continent,” Tinubu said recently through his representative, highlighting the bloc’s achievements in trade, security, and integration.
While in Lagos, President Tinubu will also commission and flag off a series of major infrastructure projects on Saturday, May 31. These include Section I of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Lekki Deep Sea Port Tax Credit Concrete Road, and the flag-off of Section II of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, as well as the 7th Axial Road. Virtually, he will commission the Kano-Kanwar-Danja-Hadejiya Section II Road and Yakasai-Zalli Road, and flag off the Kano Northern By-pass, Zaria-Hunkuyi-Dabai Section I, Dabai-Kafur Malumfashi, and Malumfashi-Dayi-Yashe-Gidan Mutum Daya Section III.
Before returning to Abuja, President Tinubu will observe the Eid-el-Kabir prayers at the State House, Dodan Barracks.
“The celebrations of ECOWAS’s 50th anniversary must go hand-in-hand with reflection and recalibration. Nothing is worth celebrating more than ECOWAS’s role in peace and security,” stated Touray.
The Lagos events are expected to draw a wide range of dignitaries, reflecting ECOWAS’s continued commitment to unity and shared vision across the region.