The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu, Mr. Sunday Dare, has affirmed that under President Tinubu’s leadership as Chairman of ECOWAS, the regional bloc is realigning with its founding vision of seamless integration across West Africa.
Dare noted that while this core objective has encountered significant challenges and setbacks in recent years, it is now being actively pursued with renewed commitment and strategic focus.
The presidential aide asserted on Sunday in an interview with Voice of Nigeria’s State House Correspondent about the two-year tenure of the Nigerian leader, President Tinubu, as the chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States.
Mr. Dare highlighted that President Tinubu’s election as a two-term Chairman of ECOWAS reignited a sense of hope and momentum across member states, marking the beginning of a transformative process aimed at fostering unity, economic collaboration, and sustainable development within the region.
“I think one of the major milestones that you can point to is the fact that a few days ago, Nigeria hosted the West African Economic Summit with a clear message that it is time for integration.
“It stated to ECOWAS that the time for talk is over; the time for just meeting and drinking coffee and signing treaties and walking away is over.
“So under President Tinubu, ECOWAS is returning to its very core of its establishment, the integration of the sub-region, which it has failed in the past, to have President Tinubu as Chairman rekindled that hope, and started that process.”
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The special adviser to the president recalled President Tinubu’s message at the inaugural West African Economic Summit (WAES), where he emphasised that Africa must not miss the forthcoming industrial revolution poised to reshape the global economy.
He further recounted that the summit was beyond merely celebrating the existence of the continent’s unity; instead, it focused on making the reasons for the West African States’ unity tangible and impactful.
He highlighted key pillars of this as vision, including deeper regional integration, the free movement of people across borders, and the establishment of a common currency, critical steps he stressed President Tinubu passionately advocated for as essential to unlocking Africa’s full economic potential and securing its place in the future global industrial landscape.
Additionally, Mr. Dare emphasised that President Tinubu has revitalised ECOWAS, stating that the regional bloc is now characterised by visionary leadership, boldness, and the courage to confront critical issues head-on.
He added that under President Tinubu’s stewardship, ECOWAS has adopted a more proactive and outspoken stance, addressing challenges with clarity and determination.
“You know, just as we say in Nigeria that all politics is first local, you must first keep the sub-regional body viral and forward. Looking, it is that strength and that voice and the conviction of purpose that you take to AU.
“I think President Tinubu has been able to dress ECOWAS in a new garb in such that the gab of being visionary, provocative, and being able to speak up to issues. Tinubu has also driven governance down enough to say that without integration, the regional bloc will be dead.”
The Presidential aide highlighted that President Tinubu has also championed the cause of deepening governance within the region, stressing that without genuine integration, the regional bloc risks becoming irrelevant.
He envisioned a future where the African Union (AU) places greater emphasis on the ECOWAS sub-region, ensuring that agreements and initiatives forged at the sub-regional level resonate strongly within the AU framework.
“For me, I think the AU will start taking the ECOWAS sub-region so seriously that whatever agreements that are reached at the sub-regional levels are echoed and resonate there, and the AU can build on it.
“If the ECOWAS goes now to the AU to say this is what we want, the AU must reckon with the bloc,” the presidential aide added.
This alignment, Mr Sunday Dare said, will enable the AU to build effectively on ECOWAS’s achievements, fostering greater unity and progress across the continent.