Tinubu receives outgoing ECOWAS commission president

President Bola Tinubu received Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, the outgoing President of the ECOWAS Commission, at the State House in Abuja on Thursday. The meeting took place in the Presidential Villa, with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, also present.

Details of the private discussions were not immediately disclosed. However, the visit comes just weeks before Dr. Touray is scheduled to formally conclude his tenure leading the executive arm of the Economic Community of West African States. Touray, a career diplomat from The Gambia, assumed the presidency of the ECOWAS Commission on July 3, 2022, for a term running until 2026.

His appointment was unanimously endorsed by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government. Prior to his role at ECOWAS, Touray held significant positions, including The Gambia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and its Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. He was dismissed from the latter position in September 2009 before working with the Islamic Development Bank and returning to diplomatic service.

Touray succeeded Ivorian diplomat Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, who led the Commission from 2018. The meeting with President Tinubu signifies a transition period for the regional body, with discussions likely touching upon ongoing regional matters and the handover process.