Press Release: President Buhari Stresses Accountability, Good Neighbourliness In Meetings With ECOWAS and AU Commission

President Muhammadu Buhari Friday met with the President of ECOWAS Commission and Chairperson of the African Union Commission, at State House, Abuja, during which he emphasized the need for accountability and good neighbourliness in both the sub-region, and on the African continent.

Receiving first His Excellency Marcel A. de Souza, president of the ECOWAS Commission, President Buhari said it was gladdening that the organization was demanding accountability from its headquarters staff, which made it recently invite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from Nigeria, to look into its books.

“Thanks for being firm, and for insisting on transparency and accountability at the ECOWAS headquarters,” President Buhari said, adding that Nigeria would continue to fulfill its obligations to the sub-regional body.

Nigeria hosts the 52nd Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government Saturday, December 16, 2017, in Abuja.

President Buhari said he expected a formal report on the situation in Guinea Bissau at the meeting, noting: “We need our troops back home, and I hope the President of that country will accept a constitutional way to resolve the situation there.”

The ECOWAS Commission boss thanked Nigeria for agreeing to host the 52nd Ordinary Session at short notice, adding that the impact of Nigeria was quite strong in the organization.

“We are under financial pressure due to terrorist attacks in the sub-region, but Nigeria being out of recession will have an impact on the entire region,” de Souza said.

He noted that Nigeria was the highest contributor of troops to Guinea Bissau, but admitted that “the troops can’t be there endlessly.”

At the meeting with His Excellency Moussa Faki Mahamat of the African Union Commission, President Buhari said good neighbourliness and relationship were important for security and economic development.

“That was why I visited all our neighbours. Such relationship is crucial for security, and economic development, so that our youths can get jobs,” the President noted.

On the situation in Libya, President Buhari reiterated that not every Black man was a Nigerian, and it was, therefore, important to authenticate the origin of the people in distress, before they were evacuated.

“We are trying to bring as many as possible from Libya. But not every Black man is a Nigerian. Others claim to be Nigerian, when they are not, and because they have destroyed their travel papers, we can’t claim them, except there is proper documentation,” the President said.

On recharging of the Lake Chad, which he has been in the vanguard of across the world, the President submitted: “The earlier we get it done, the better, so that our youths don’t continue to dare the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea.”

The AU Commission boss congratulated President Buhari for what he was doing for Nigeria, and for Africa. His words:

“Without President Buhari, and without Nigeria, many things would not have been possible. I appreciate the role you played in my election, and all that you do in ECOWAS, Lake Chad Basin Commission, and the entire continent.

“We follow your battle against corruption, and it is not by chance that you have been chosen by other African leaders to champion the battle in 2018.

“Your commitment is notable, and I seek your support for reforms that we intend to introduce in AU. Your guidance is vital. We need Africa to speak with one voice, and the voice of Nigeria is preponderant.”

Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity)
December 15, 2017

Press Release: President Buhari Calls For Caution In Implementing ECOWAS Single Currency

President Muhamadu Buhari Tuesday in Niamey, Niger, urged ECOWAS member countries to tread carefully in pushing for a single currency in the sub-region by 2020, drawing attention to the challenges faced by the European Union in realising the same goal.

In his speech at the 4th Meeting of the Presidential Task Force on the ECOWAS Currency Programme, President Buhari said the necessary economic fundamentals among countries continue to differ over the years, making it more difficult to pull through with the project by 2020.

“Nigeria advises that we proceed cautiously with the integration agenda, taking into consideration the above concerns and the lessons currently unfolding in the European Union. To that end, Nigeria will caution against any position that pushes for a fast-track approach to monetary union, while neglecting fundamentals and other pertinent issues,’’ he said.

President Buhari noted that some of the obstacles to realising the roadmap for the implementation of a single currency include diverse and uncertain macro – economic fundamentals of many countries, unrealistic inflation targeting based on flexible exchange rate regime and inconsistency with the African Monetary Co-operation Programme.

The President said domestic issues in ECOWAS member countries relating to their constitutions and dependence on aids continue to affect the framework for implementing the single currency in the sub-region

He said “although the ECOWAS Commission has anchored its pursuit of the new impetus to monetary integration on “the information presented to the Heads of State which were the basis for their recommendations”, we are concerned that we have not properly articulated and analyzed a comprehensive picture of the state of preparedness of individual countries for monetary integration in ECOWAS by 2020.

“In previous meetings, we had specifically raised observations on the state of preparedness of the member states, the credibility of the union if anchored on watered down criteria, and the continuing disparities between macroeconomic conditions in ECOWAS countries, amongst others. And I would like to reiterate this concerns.’’

The President told the Heads of State that the conditions that pushed Nigeria into withdrawing from the process in the past had not changed.

“Nigeria had earlier withdrawn from the process because its key questions and concerns were ignored and till date, none of the issues has come up as an agenda issue to be considered by the Taskforce. Consequently, the Roadmap which did not involve widespread consultation with national stakeholders is not sufficiently inclusive,’’ he added.

Going forward with the project, President Buhari suggested a thorough review of the convergence roadmap and the constitution of an expert committee on each of the subject areas to come up with acceptable time frame, defined cost and funding sources identified.

“This should also consider stakeholders such as the Ministries of Finance, Customs, Parliamentary groups, Tax Authorities, Immigration authorities to achieve comprehensiveness,’’ he said.

The President said there should be a push towards ratification and domestication of legal instruments and related protocols, while fiscal, trade and monetary policies and statistical systems, which had not gone far, could be harmonized.

President Buhari noted that the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) countries should make a presentation on a clear roadmap towards delinking from the French Treasury.

He also advised an examination of the African Union position on the same issue, which the African Central Bank Governors, in line with the African Union programme of monetary convergence, recommended a convergence deadline of 2034 for the establishment of Regional Central Banks in all sub-regions.

In his remarks, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Marcel Alain de Souza, said the single currency for the West African sub-region was a laudable and historical project, but regretted that it had taken too long to be actualized.

The President said the creation of a Central Bank for the West Coast would accelerate the process.

He noted that Nigeria constitutes more than 70 percent of the GDP of the West African region, with a population of 180 million, and would play a significant role in facilitating the process of realising a single currency for the sub-region.

Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
October 24th, 2017

Press Release: President Buhari To Participate In ECOWAS Task Force Meeting On Common Currency In Niamey

President Muhammadu Buhari will Tuesday depart for Niamey, Republic of Niger, to participate in a meeting on common currency for the West African sub-region.

Member countries of the ECOWAS Task Force on Common Currency are ‎Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Niger.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun and the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, will also join the President at the meeting.

President Buhari will return to Abuja same day after the meeting.

FEMI ADESINA
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
October 23, 2017.