Nigeria has paid its accrued debt owed the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to the tune of ₦85 billion.

President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, disclosed this in his statement at the opening of the 66th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Abuja.

He said while the community had suffered slow response from member states in remitting their levies, Nigeria under the leadership of President Tinubu had cleared its levies from 2023 to date.

According to Touray, this is the first time in 19 years that Nigeria will pay 100% of its ECOWAS levy.

The ECOWAS President also lauded the efforts of President Bola Tinubu, the Federal Government of Nigeria for always supporting the efforts of the regional body.

He also thanked the efforts of the outgoing President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, who would leave office on January 7, 2025.

“This needs to be reversed. The good news is that for the first time in 19 years, Nigeria has decided to pay 100 per cent of its community levy from 2023. I am therefore pleased to announce that on Friday, December 13th, Nigeria paid ₦85 billion and 54 million representing 100 per cent of the 2023 levy and the levy of 2024 up to July 2024.

“We all agree that this payment underscores the leadership and commitment of President Ahmed Tinubu, the government and the people of Nigeria to our community.

At a more personal level, it represents a mark of confidence on the management that I have been privileged to lead since 2022. My colleague and I are deeply grateful and I thank you for your attention,” Touray stated.

In his welcome address, the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government and President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu called for cooperation among the ECOWAS member states in protecting their citizens and providing an enabling environment for the citizens to thrive.

He said raising the living standards of the citizens is an obligation on the part of the citizens.

Tinubu noted that the economic cooperation have been bolstered by the various ECOWAS policies. He commended Ghana and Senegal for holding successful presidential and parliamentary elections respectively.

The Nigerian leader urged the countries in the region to learn from the examples.

Describing President Akufo-Addo as ‘Mr Democrat,’ President Tinubu commended his Ghanaian counterpart for his selfless leadership and for allowing the will of the people to prevail.

Akufo-Addo is attending the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government for the last time as President of Ghana.

More to follow…