President Bola Tinubu, on Sunday, expressed his displeasure over the inability of the standby force to be activated, despite commitments from the Authority of Heads of State of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.
He regretted that it had failed to move from concept to reality in the collective fight against terrorism and transnational crimes under his leadership as chairman of the regional bloc.
The President raised the concern in his opening speech at the 67th ECOWAS Authority’s Ordinary Session in Abuja, one of his final acts as chairman of the 50-year-old regional economic bloc.
He emphasised the urgency of operationalising the force in the face of escalating insecurity across the sub-region, noting that, “The ECOWAS Standby Force must move from concept to operational reality. I am a little bit worried about the slow pace of its activation, which is taking longer than desired.”
The Nigerian leader noted that threats confronting the region are transnational, driven by agile and dangerous networks that respect nobody’s border.
“No single nation can, therefore, address these challenges alone. We must strengthen coordination, amplify political will, and prioritise a collective approach to secure it,” he added.
President Tinubu highlighted major milestones during his leadership of the regional bloc.
He said the completed ECOWAS Military Logistics Depot in Lungi, Sierra Leone, will play a critical role in providing equipment and other logistics to forces deployed by ECOWAS.
“Last February in Addis Ababa, Nigeria signed the Sixth Agreement with the African Union. With the depot’s completion, Nigeria is committing itself to sea-lift and air-lift arrangements with ECOWAS,” he said.
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