At the ECOWAS Heads of State Summit in Bissau, attended by 15 West African countries, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu was elected to serve as President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for the coming year. 

He will assume the leadership role from the current leader of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who has served for the past year. 

In his address as the newly-elected President of ECOWAS, Bola Tinubu emphatically declared that democracy is ‘the best form of government’, albeit ‘very difficult to manage’. 

He further vowed to take a strict stance against any political coups that may occur in ECOWAS member countries in the future. 

This call for greater security and stability echoes the current disquiet in the region, as three ECOWAS countries – Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso – have been affected by a total of five coups since 2020.

President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray, urgently urged the junta members in these countries to adhere to the deadline set for them to cede power to civil authorities. 

Touray also announced that the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) decided last Saturday to lift Mali’s suspension from its bodies and institutions, imposed in January 2022 for their rebellion to retain power for an extended period.