President Akufo-Addo handing over to the ECOWAS Chairman
Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Sunday, July 3, 2022 ended his tenure as Chair of the Authority of Heads of State of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).
This follows after President Akufo-Addo had served two terms – first in 2020 and then renewed for another year in 2021.
He has been replaced with Umaro Sissoco Embalo, Guinea-Bissau President who has been unanimously elected Chairman of the group.
President Embalo is set to serve for one year subject to renewal.
President Akufo-Addo took over from Niger’s former president, Mahamadou Issoufou, on Monday, September 7, 2020.
This was renewed in June, 2021 to help complete ongoing institutional reforms geared towards the reduction of the number of statutory appointees of the ECOWAS Commission from 15 to seven and to also streamline operational cost.
Embalo will have to grapple with the difficult political and security situation that confronted his predecessor, as well as the rising cost of food in the region occasioned by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The new Chairman will also have the challenge of mobilizing the bloc to restore constitutional rule to the trio of Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali, who are under military authorities.
President Akufo-Addo hands over the position with the legacy of providing strong leadership that helped the region to manage the COVID-19 crisis.
Another feather in his cap was his push to maintain democratic ideals in the region, and his avowed resistance to the overthrow of constitutionally elected governments.
He is widely credited with rallying his counterparts to respect the term limits of their tenures.
President Akufo-Addo, who chaired his last meeting of the Authority, urged the bloc to adopt a coordinated approach to address the security concerns in the region, impressing on his counterparts to commit to the implementation of the regional action plan against terrorism to curtail the threat of terrorism.
According to him, “Our determination in this end must be stronger than ever and equally unshaken must be our resolve to maintain the stability of our region and of its member states.”
He called on member states to focus more on agriculture to enable the region to attain food sufficiency amidst the rising prices of food occasioned by the Russian war in Ukraine.
The President urged member states to stay vigilant against the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of “the threat is still around,” pointing out that the region cannot afford another hit of the pandemic when it is presently contending with serious and destabilizing political and security threats.
He said “The management of this pandemic illustrates our organization’s ability to unite our energies to face a significant common threat. However, we must continue to remain vigilant as COVID-19 is still around.”
By Vincent Kubi