It is my pleasure to welcome you,
once again to Abuja, for today’s 40th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS
Authority.
This Session is unique because we
will endorse the appointment of new Commissioners and Vice President of the Commission
and also elect a new President of the Commission and Chairperson of the
Authority.
On behalf of my country Nigeria, and
on my personal behalf, let me sincerely thank my Brother Heads of State and
Government for the opportunity that was given to Nigeria to serve.
I wish to also extend our gratitude
to the former Commissioners who steered the affairs of the Commission after the
transformation of the Secretariat to a Commission. As pioneer Commissioners, they did a good job
and we wish them well in their future endeavours.
Worthy of mention is His Excellency
Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, the outgoing President of the Commission. Ambassador Gbeho steered the affairs of the
Commission with dedication and commitment.
We thank him for his service.
Your Excellencies, I congratulate
our Colleague and Brother, His Excellency President Boni Yayi of the Republic
of Benin on his election as the Chair of the African Union. His unanimous election was not only a measure
of our confidence in him and his country but also a reflection of our
principled stand on issues of interest to our region. Collectively, we have a responsibility to
assist him to succeed and continue to build on this unity in the interest of
our sub-region.
Your Excellencies, you may recall
that my late predecessor, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, took over the mantle
of leadership as Chair of ECOWAS upon his assumption of office as President of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria in May 2007.
Following the health challenges that
befell our late Leader, and I took over the leadership of my country as Acting
President, you entrusted me with the Chairmanship of the Authority. This was unprecedented in the history of our Organization,
and when I became President, following the death of President Umaru Musa
Yar’Adua, you reaffirmed your confidence in me when you decided that I continue
as Chairman even though Nigeria was preparing for general elections. This is really an exemplary show of love, trust
and confidence. These events will surely
paint beautiful colours in my memoirs.
For all these, I am most grateful.
Under my Chairmanship, our Organization
faced numerous political and economic challenges, most of which we resolved
successfully; thanks to our collective commitment and dedication to the cause
of peace. This was helped by the
cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship between our Organization and
international organizations, including the African Union, United Nations, and
the European Union.
This international cooperation was best
exemplified during the crisis in Cote d’Ivoire, where we found a common voice
in the firm and unequivocal application of our Protocol on Democracy and Good
Governance. This greatly facilitated the
resolution of the crisis. At this
Summit, we are pleased to welcome in our midst our brother and dear colleague,
President Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire.
His presence strengthens our Organisation and we wish him every success
in the governance of his country.
Your Excellencies, our efforts to
consolidate democracy in our sub-region paid off substantially in Liberia,
Niger and Guinea Conakry during my chairmanship. In Liberia, an ECOWAS Mini-Summit held in
September last year successfully addressed the influx of ex-combatants from
Cote d’Ivoire into the country. The
resolution of this problem helped in providing a conducive environment for the
successful elections held in Liberia in October and November 2011.
In Niger, the attempts by the then
incumbent President to alter the Constitution to elongate his tenure in office
were averted. Subsequently, elections
were held which paved the way for Niger to return to the ranks of democratic
nations.
In Guinea Conakry, where there had
been a series of military interventions, ECOWAS has successfully guided the
country to hold elections and a return to democracy.
On Guinea Bissau, let me condole the
government and people for the untimely death of President Bacai Sanhya. Let me also recognize and welcome in our
midst the Interim President, H.E. Raimundo Pereira. ECOWAS have charted a path to stabilise the
polity through a carefully developed Defence and Security Sector Reform
Programme (DSSRP). Our Organisation has
invested considerable resources into the Programme and we are confident of
success.
I urge all stakeholders in Guinea Bissau to
join hands to ensure the full implementation of the Programme. The Programme was drawn up and approved with
the active participation of Guinea Bissau and other regional stakeholders. As an ECOWAS programme, the ECOWAS Commission
is responsible for its coordination and full implementation with full
participation of other stakeholders.
Your Excellencies, these have been
success stories, but there have also been serious challenges in the Sahel
Region, Gulf of Guinea and Guinea Bissau.
Equally important to mention is the rising scourge of terrorism which
now threatens the peace and security of our sub-region.
In the Sahel Region, we have
witnessed a proliferation of small arms and light weapons, now even more
accentuated in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. As a result, countries in the region are
threatened by insurgents and terrorists with dire consequences for the peace,
stability and prosperity of the sub-region.
In the Gulf of Guinea, the
increasing incidence of piracy has reached a worrisome dimension. This is compounded with drug trafficking, oil
bunkering and human trafficking. All of
these require urgent and concerted actions.
Your Excellencies, we must not
forget that beyond politics, the economic integration of our sub-region remains
the fundamental objective of our Organisation.
We must, therefore, accelerate our efforts toward monetary union by
meeting the convergence criteria, and achieving the harmonization of tariff
regimes.
Internally, within the Community
Institutions, there is an urgent need for structural reforms in order to
enhance capacity and improve transparency.
Activities of our Organisation must conform to global best practices to
improve confidence and assure growth. It
cannot continue to be business as usual if our Organisation must fulfil the
vision of our founding fathers.
Your Excellencies there can be no
overstating the imperative need that our efforts for integration and peace
would be hard to achieve if our unity and cohesion are not assured. Indeed, our Organization has been universally
acclaimed as a role model in sub-regional integration.
However, and unfortunately, this
quality is now gravely imperilled as clearly demonstrated by what transpired
during the election of the African Union Commission Chairperson in Addis Ababa
at the 18th Session of the Assembly where some ECOWAS member states broke rank
with the consensus position of the sub-region.
We need to continue to demonstrate
our cohesiveness and speak with one voice as a region. Of the five regions of Africa, West Africa
has the highest number of member states.
This is an important leverage in our hands. We need to demonstrate it and exploit it to
advance the interest of our sub-region.
We should not allow such leverage to slip through our hands through
advancing individual consideration.
We must continue to honour and
commend individuals and institutions who help our sub-region towards advancing
our vision of a better and greater community of citizens just as we did in the
last Summit when we honoured our founding fathers - Generals Yakubu Gowon,
Gnasingbe Eyadema, Prof. Adebayo Adedeji and Mr Edem Kodjo.
In conclusion, I wish to reiterate
the avowed commitment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the integration
objectives of our Organization. We will
not relent in this pursuit. I call upon
all member-states to come together in unity to serve our Organization. We should not allow any division in our ranks
to be exploited to the detriment of our regional objectives.
Your Excellencies, as I relinquish
the Chairmanship of this esteemed Organization, I look forward to working
closely with the incoming Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and
Government of our Commission. Let me
call on all of us to give him the same cooperation and support you gave me to
steer our Organization to realize the laudable objectives set by our founding
fathers.
