Mahama assumes ECOWAS chair

President John Dramani Mahama officially assumed the chairmanship of the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of State and Government last Saturday and pledged to lead the sub-regional leaders to aggressively work to better the quality of lives of their people.

In driving his leadership agenda, he said he would focus on three thematic areas of peace and security, economic integration and infrastructure development.

Giving his acceptance speech after the Ivorian President and immediate past ECOWAS Chairman Alassane Ouatarra had handed over the baton of office to him, Mr Mahama reminded his colleagues that the peoples of West Africa were counting on their leaders to serve them and the leaders could not afford to fail the people.

Mr Mahama was elected by consensus among his colleagues as ECOWAS Chair at the just-ended 44th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire, for a one-year term.

Peace and security 

Touching on peace and security as one of his main areas of focus, the ECOWAS Chairman said the region required continuous peace and security if it was to attract the much ended investment to drive its development.

"I will, therefore, build on the achievements of my predecessor and consolidate the peace in Mali and the entire sub-region. I will also work to support Nigeria in the fight against the murders and destruction caused by Boko Haram," Mr Mahama said.

He mentioned unemployment as a major cause of insecurity and said he would collaborate with his colleagues to attack the canker from all angles.

Economic integration

President Mahama said economic integration was a prerequisite for the development that ECOWAS aspired to achieve.

Regarding the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union, he said, "Everything must be done to ensure that the peoples of West Africa are given an agreement that will go to uplift their lives."

He further indicated his resolve to work at increasing trade among nations of the sub-region.

Infrastructure development

President Mahama said all available resources would be galvanised to ensure the accelerated development and expansion of infrastructure in West Africa. 

He also pledged to work for the realisation of the West African gas pipeline, as well as the Abidjan-Lagos highway.

More work 

Even as he pledged to advance the cause of the group he leads, President Mahama admitted that there was a lot of work ahead of them.

But he was confident the right chord would be struck, "once we reject every move to divide us".

Recalling what Ghana's first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, had said about the freedom and unity of Africa when he declared independence for Ghana in 1957, Mr Mahama said Nkrumah's statement was more relevant today than ever before.

"When we achieve true integration among ourselves in ECOWAS, then our sub-region will once again lead the way for the rest of Africa to follow," he said.

Gratitude

President Mahama paid tribute to his colleagues for the confidence reposed in him as "one of your younger colleagues".

He singularly praised President Ouatarra for the great work he did and said the strides made by his predecessor had prepared the fertile ground for him to succeed, God willing.

Ouatarra

In his hand-over speech, President Ouatarra enumerated some of the positives of ECOWAS over the last two years and expressed the hope that President Mahama would build on them.