President Adama Barrow
By Buba Gagigo
President Adama Barrow has emphasized the urgent need for collective action to address regional insecurity and other critical challenges at the 66th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, held in Nigeria.
“Our region continues to face numerous challenges that urgently require collective action. The level of insecurity or threats to peace across the sub-region, for instance, call for more effective and sustainable solutions.” President Barrow stated.
He highlighted key issues such as poverty, youth unemployment, women’s empowerment, and irregular migration, noting that these challenges are exacerbated by climate change and other barriers to regional stability.
“Issues of poverty, youth unemployment, women empowerment, and irregular migration, worsened by climate change and other barriers to stability, continually hinder development and integration efforts within the Community. Consequently, we need more practical and better-coordinated approaches to address them,” President Barrow said.
Reflecting on regional progress, President Barrow commended ECOWAS’ achievements in advancing regional integration, good governance, and the restoration of democracy across member states. He stressed the importance of consolidating these gains to strengthen ECOWAS’ credibility and its role as a unified body tackling regional and global concerns.
“In this regard, we congratulate the Governments and People of the Republics of Senegal and Ghana on their recent peaceful and successful national elections. In line with our continental goals, through its peace and security initiatives, our Authority must continue to support the ECOWAS Commission’s efforts to resolve conflict in the region and beyond. In addition to ensuring a peaceful Community, we have to collectively champion Regional Integration through trade. Strengthening regional trade, facilitating free flow of goods and people, and expanding economic opportunities for our citizens are viable options to reinforce. The opportunities and benefits that go with the African Continental Free Trade Area should be wisely harnessed as well,” he said.
Addressing economic cooperation further, President Barrow reiterated the need for a single regional currency to facilitate trade, attract investment, and reduce the financial barriers posed by currency exchange.
“This is crucial for creating a unified market in the sub-region to ease trade, attract investments, and lower costs associated with currency exchange. Relying on various currencies imposes exchange rate costs on Member States, thus hindering intra-regional trade and investment. These barriers discourage investments by raising the cost of capital movement,” he said.
The 66th ECOWAS Summit brought together regional leaders to discuss solutions to the region’s most pressing challenges, including insecurity, economic development, and integration.