Tinubu inaugurates new ECOWAS HQ, urges industrial West Africa

President Bola Tinubu marked the inauguration of the new Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) headquarters in Abuja with a call for a revitalized commitment to regional integration, peace, and industrialization. Describing the new complex as the "Eye of Africa," Tinubu stated it symbolizes the renewal of a "covenant" with the ideals that founded the community over five decades ago.

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Today marks not only the inauguration of an impressive landmark, but the renewal of a covenant, our covenant with the ideals of regional integration, solidarity and shared prosperity.

Speaking through Vice President Kashim Shettima, Tinubu emphasized that ECOWAS must evolve beyond its current status as a regional market. He urged a strategic shift towards becoming a "regional production base," where integration is driven by local production rather than consumption. "A community that consumes what it does not make will forever live at the mercy of the goodwill of others," he warned, highlighting the necessity of deeper industrialization, robust regional value chains, and increased investment.

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The hour has come to transform our regional market into a regional production base.

Tinubu acknowledged the significant progress ECOWAS has made in peacebuilding, governance, and economic cooperation. However, he cautioned against ignoring pressing challenges such as terrorism, economic instability, food insecurity, climate change, and the demands of a youthful population. The President stressed that recent events, including the withdrawal of three member states, underscore that regional integration is no longer solely an economic imperative but a comprehensive framework for collective security, political stability, and sustainable development.

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Our integration must increasingly be driven by what we produce rather than by what we consume, for a community that consumes what it does not make will forever live at the mercy of the goodwill of others.

He also extended an invitation for dialogue and renewed solidarity, stating that the "door of the community must remain open" to countries that have chosen to stand apart. The inauguration of the new headquarters, he concluded, signifies not just an impressive landmark but a renewed resolve to uphold the principles of solidarity and shared prosperity across West Africa.

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Regional integration can no longer be an economic imperative alone. It has become a comprehensive framework for our collective security, our political stability, our sustainable development and the welfare of our peoples.