Tinubu recommits to regional integration as new ECOWAS hq built by China opens

President Bola Tinubu has declared that the newly inaugurated headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja signifies a renewed commitment to regional integration, peace, industrialization, and shared prosperity across West Africa. He described the impressive new building as a "symbol of renewal, of resilience, and of confidence in the future of ECOWAS."

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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 at the commissioning ceremony, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, Tinubu urged a strategic shift within the bloc. He advocated moving beyond a focus on a regional market to establishing a robust regional production base. "Our integration must increasingly be driven by what we produce rather than by what we consume," he stated, warning that a community reliant on imports remains vulnerable. He stressed that deeper industrialization, stronger regional value chains, expanded intra-regional trade, innovation, manufacturing, and investment must now guide ECOWAS's future.

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

Tinubu acknowledged the serious challenges facing the region, including terrorism, extremism, economic vulnerability, food insecurity, climate change, and public health concerns. He also addressed the recent withdrawal of three member states, noting that the evolving security landscape necessitates viewing regional integration not solely through an economic lens. "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," he asserted. He also expressed the need for continued dialogue and solidarity, keeping the door open for dialogue with nations that have chosen to step back from the bloc.

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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.