ECOWAS AFC MOVES TO FAST-TRACK RECRUITMENT AFTER AES WITHDRAWAL FROM THE COMMISSION.
By Raymond Enoch.
The ECOWAS Administration and Finance Committee (AFC) has met in extraordinary session in Abuja to review vacant managerial positions and the recruitment process within the regional organisation, following institutional gaps created by the withdrawal of AES Member States.
The two-day meeting, held from 29 to 30 November 2025 at the ECOWAS Commission headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, brought together representatives of all Member States to assess progress in filling key vacancies and to chart a way forward for a more efficient and financially sustainable Community administration.
In her welcome address, the Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. Mrs Damtien Tchintchibidja, underscored the importance of the AFC’s guidance and support in implementing the recruitment plan without delay. She noted that the exercise is taking place at a particularly challenging time for the Community, marked by a drop of about 20 per cent in the Community Levy and persistent difficulties in its collection.
According to her, these fiscal constraints make it even more urgent to ensure that recruitment is transparent, strategic and aligned with ECOWAS priorities, so that every position filled contributes directly to strengthening the Commission’s capacity to deliver on its mandate to citizens.
Declaring the session open, the Chairman of the AFC and Head of the ECOWAS National Office in Sierra Leone, Mr Komba Momoh, said the meeting would carefully examine a detailed memorandum on the progress of the ongoing recruitment process for vacant managerial posts.
Speaking on behalf of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone and Chairman of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, H.E. Julius Maada Bio, and the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Chairman of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, H.E. Timothy Musa Kabbah, Mr Momoh stressed that the objective is to ensure that all critical positions left vacant in the wake of the withdrawal of AES Member States are filled in a timely, merit-based and regionally balanced manner.
He reiterated the commitment of the Authority and the Council of Ministers to supporting the Commission and its specialised committees to stabilise the institution, safeguard its operational efficiency and preserve the gains of regional integration, despite the ongoing political and financial headwinds facing the Community.
The extraordinary session is expected to make concrete recommendations on how to accelerate the recruitment timetable, improve coordination between ECOWAS organs on staffing issues and reinforce oversight of human resource management, in line with the organisation’s revised institutional reform agenda.
