ECOWAS @ 50: Tinubu Calls For United Front Against Poverty, Unemployment
As the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) marks its 50th anniversary, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on regional leaders to rise to the challenge of poverty, youth unemployment, and insecurity threatening progress of the bloc.
Speaking through the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, at the Golden Jubilee celebration in Accra, Ghana, Tinubu urged ECOWAS leaders to double down on investments in education, innovation, and skills development to empower the region’s youthful population.
He hailed ECOWAS’ legacy of peacekeeping, economic integration, and democratic gains, while warning that the work is far from over. “Too many of our citizens still live in poverty, too many of our youth remain unemployed or forced to seek opportunities abroad,” he noted.
Tinubu, while calling for deeper cooperation, stressed the need for a single currency, stronger infrastructure, and a recommitment to democratic values. “We must reimagine ECOWAS as not just a Community of States but a Community of People,” he said.
The Nigerian leader also called for dialogue with estranged member states, saying unity is key to the region’s future. “Our strength lies in our unity. May the next 50 years be etched in history as an era when West Africa rose united, prosperous, and unstoppable.”
