President Nana Akufo Addo of Ghana has been elected the new head of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and will replace outgoing chief Mahamadou Issoufou, his Nigerien counterpart.
“I am fully aware of the challenges which confront West Africa,” said Akufo Addo in his acceptance speech, following the election at a summit held in Niamey.
“As much as considerable progress has been made since the establishment of ECOWAS, some forty-five years ago, we are all agreed that there is much more to be done to consolidate the socioeconomic and political gains made over the years,” added the Ghanaian president.