Leaders from the West African bloc ECOWAS on Sunday elected Sierra Leone’s president as its new leader as the region faces mounting unrest, military coups and subdued regional trade.
Sierra Leone’s Julius Maada Bio took over the rotational chairmanship of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) from Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu at a summit in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
In a statement following Sunday’s announcement, Bio promised to prioritize democracy, security cooperation, economic integration and institutional credibility.
“We are still confronting insecurity in the Sahel and coastal states, terrorism, political instability, illicit arms flow and transnational organized crimes continue to test the resilience of our nations and the effectiveness of our institutions,” he said.
Bio is currently serving his second term as president after a contested election two years ago in the coastal West African country.
The ECOWAS leaders met for the routine meeting as insurgents, exploiting strained relationships between countries in the region, are gaining ground in the Sahel and Lake Chad region.
In the past few years, ECOWAS has struggled with the departure of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger which have all faced military coups. All three juntas left the bloc, and created their own security partnership, the Alliance of Sahel States. They have cut ties with the traditional Western allies, ousting French and American military forces, and instead sought new security ties with Russia.
The three countries have been the hardest hit by jihadist violence in recent years.
Source: abcnews