President Muhammadu Buhari has said that in spite of the laudable achievements of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), in terms of promoting democracy in the region, terrorism and insecurity still threaten the stability of most West African state.
He also identified transnational organized crime including arms trafficking, drug trafficking, as well as piracy and criminality at sea as another daunting problem facing West Africa.
Buhari while opening the the 48th ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government ordinary summit in Abuja on Wednesday said “ECOWAS has indeed been universally acclaimed as a model regional economic community.
“In spite of the significant achievements, our Community still faces numerous challenges. While some militate against the integration drive, others continue to pose risks to peace and security, as well as political stability in the region. There are also structural and administrative challenges in running the Commission that equally require serious attention.
“Security challenges persist in our region as we continue to be confronted with the daunting scourge of transnational organized crime including arms trafficking, drug trafficking, as well as piracy and criminality at sea. Equally worrying is the rising scourge of violent extremism and terrorism. All this constitute serious threats to peace and security in the region, and therefore require our urgent and concerted actions.
“Regional and indeed global solidarity is vital in our efforts to counter these threats. To this end, we must continue to enhance our system of governance and, working with our partners, accelerate the implementation of our joint initiatives and mechanisms created to address these daunting but not insurmountable risks. As we do so, we should not relent in our effort to engage with member states coming out of crises, in order to help them to consolidate on the achievements made.”
Buhari also commended successful resolution of crises in Burkina Faso and Guinea Bissau.
Eleven African Heads of States were in attendance including H. E. Alassane Ouatarra, president of Cote D’Ivoire; H. E. Jose Mario Vaz, president of Guinea Bissau; H. E. John Dramani Mahama, president of Ghana, amongst others.