Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was established on May 28 1975 via the treaty of Lagos
It is a 15-member regional group with a mandate of promoting economic integration in all fields of activity of the constituting countries
The Vision of ECOWAS is the creation of a borderless region where the population has access to its abundant resources and is able to exploit same through the creation of opportunities under a sustainable environment
ECOWAS can be divided into two sub-regional blocs:
West African Economic and Monetary Union – established in 1994
West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) – established in 2000
ECOWAS is meant to be a region governed in accordance with the principles of democracy, rule of law and good governance
The member countries of ECOWAS comprises: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’ Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo
Objectives of ECOWAS
All Member states to be treated equally and to ensure interdependency among each state
Cooperative and harmonised livelihood of people living in regions of member states
Maintenance of regional peace, stability and security
To ensure social and economic justice to each citizen of all the member states
To manage a non-aggressive relation between the member states
Promotion of human rights
Just and equal distribution of the costs and benefits of economic co-operation and integration
COMMENTS