ECOWAS grouping

• The regional bloc ECOWAS or the Economic Community of West African States has been playing an active role in Niger amid turmoil

About ECOWAS grouping

• Also known as CEDEAO in French, the regional group was established in 1975 through the Lagos Treaty – with a mandate of promoting economic integration among its members.
• Today, ECOWAS has 15 members: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’ Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.
• Around 400 million people live in this region.
• Headquarters: Abuja, Nigeria.
• ECOWAS’ larger aims are to have a single common currency and create a single, large trading bloc in areas of industry, transport, telecommunications, energy, financial issues, and social and cultural matters.
• Organisation structure includes the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government.
  • The Chairman is the current Head of State and Government and is appointed by other Heads of State and Government to oversee its affairs for one year.