Nigeria Calls for Fairness in Allocation of ECOWAS Leadership Positions

Positions, Positions, Positions and protection of bad member states leaders. That is all ECOWAS is established for.

 Nigeria has urged the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to ensure fairness and inclusivity in the rotation and distribution of statutory leadership positions across its institutions.

Speaking at an Ad hoc Ministerial Meeting on the Rotation of Statutory Appointees in Abuja on Tuesday, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu said the process must reflect the principles of equity, regional balance, and institutional integrity.

She reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to regional solidarity and integration, stressing that the country would continue to play a constructive leadership role in building consensus among member states.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu emphasized that the review of statutory positions for the 2026–2030 term should duly recognize the aspirations of smaller member states with limited resources but strong commitment to ECOWAS ideals.

She cautioned that membership of the committee should not be viewed as a route to personal advancement, but rather as an opportunity to strengthen unity, mutual trust, and shared purpose within the sub-region.

The committee is expected to submit its recommendations to the ECOWAS Council of Ministers at the bloc’s December 2025 statutory meetings, ahead of the expiration of current appointees’ four-year terms between July and October 2026.

To the disillusioned citizens of West African nations, ECOWAS has come to symbolize an organization more concerned with the sharing of political offices and the protection of failing governments than with the welfare of its people.

Until ECOWAS aligns its actions with the genuine aspirations and democratic will of West Africans, it will remain an institution that exists in name but irrelevant to the very people it claims to serve.