AU Applauds ECOWAS @50 as Ambassador Tuggar Reaffirms Its Leadership Role in Africa.
By Raymond Enoch
As the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) marks its 50th anniversary, the bloc has received high commendation from the African Union (AU) for its decisive leadership in addressing regional challenges and promoting African integration.
Speaking at the golden jubilee celebration in Lagos, Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister and Chair of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, affirmed that ECOWAS will continue to serve as a model among Africa’s regional economic communities. He credited innovations such as the community levy for enabling the bloc’s financial autonomy and advancing its ambitious infrastructure projects, including the Abidjan-Lagos transport corridor and the West African Power Pool.
“ECOWAS stands today as a leading model among Africa’s regional economic communities,” Tuggar declared. “No single country in the region can achieve the scale necessary for global competitiveness alone. Only through ECOWAS can West Africa realise its full potential.”
He described the withdrawal of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso as temporary and called for renewed commitment to unity and multilateralism in the face of modern challenges such as artificial intelligence, climate change, and violent extremism.
In a related development, the African Union Commission (AUC) also paid glowing tribute to ECOWAS for its unwavering resolve in promoting peace, dialogue, and economic integration. AUC Chairperson Mahmoud Youssouf, represented by Deputy Chairperson Selma Haddadi, described ECOWAS as a “credible voice anchored in the values of unity, justice, and enduring peace.”
“ECOWAS has not stood idle in times of adversity,” said Youssouf. “It has acted decisively, not just as a regional bloc, but as a moral force defending human dignity.”
He highlighted the bloc’s strides in economic cooperation—from seamless cross-border trade and a unified biometric identity system to the harmonisation of trade regulations under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Youssouf said ECOWAS reflects the vision of African unity and is aligned with the AU’s Agenda 2063.
Both leaders called for deeper collaboration, solidarity, and innovation to shape the next 50 years of African progress.
“As long as ECOWAS thrives, Africa thrives,” Youssouf concluded. “Let the next fifty years be defined not by the limitations of our time, but by the limitless possibilities of our collective will.”
