LAGOS, Nigeria

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who also serves as chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States, has called for West African countries to work together to transform their economies.

Speaking on the second day of the West African Economic Summit in Abuja on Saturday, President Tinubu said regional leaders must now deliver tangible outcomes by pursuing economic unity, policy alignment, and aggressive investment to ensure the region's prosperity.

Tinubu decried the low level of trade among West African nations, stressing that intra-regional trade below 10% is no longer acceptable in a region with such enormous economic potential.

"We can't continue to operate in isolation. Intra-regional trade remaining below 10% is more than just a statistic; it is a crisis of missed opportunities," he said. "This isn't a lack of will but rather a failure of coordination. The world economy will not wait for West Africa to get its act together, and neither should we.”

He also stressed the region’s youth, saying: “Our region’s greatest asset is its youthful population. However, this demographic promise can quickly become a liability if not matched by investments in education, digital infrastructure, innovation, and productive enterprise.”

Similarly, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar emphasized free markets, a pragmatic approach to governance, and private-sector cooperation.

“Our purpose today is to reset the vision for the economic future of the West African region. Now, that is quite an ambitious target. And let’s be honest, it is up to the creative talents, enterprise, and ingenuity of our people to deliver that transformation,” Tuggar said.

Meanwhile, Liberian President Joseph Boakai urged West African leaders to maintain open lines of communication with Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, stressing that the door to ECOWAS must remain open for countries that have left the bloc.

"At the 66th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority, Liberia called for renewed cooperation among member states that have taken divergent actions. Today, I would like to reiterate that appeal: we must keep the door open for engagement and reconciliation, particularly with our sister states that have unfortunately left the community," Boakai said.

The summit, held ahead of ECOWAS's 67th Ordinary Summit, aimed to strengthen regional economic integration and improve trade and investment cooperation across West Africa.

Presidents from Ghana, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Gambia, the Benin Republic, Togo, and Guinea-Bissau also attended the summit.

Ministers of finance, trade, infrastructure, and foreign affairs from ECOWAS member states were also in attendance, as were representatives from regional institutions such as the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), and the AfCFTA Secretariat.