ECOWAS allocates statutory positions to member states

ECOWAS leaders recently ended an extra-ordinary summit in Abuja by approving the allocation of statutory positions at the ECOWAS Commission to Member States based on the principles of inclusiveness, equity, transparency and predictability.

The one-day meeting was presided over by the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan.

Addressing the press after the meeting, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, His Excellency James Victor Gbeho, said the Heads of State and Government endorsed the recommendations of the Ad-hoc Committee of regional leaders which met in Sierra Leone in June 2011 on the allocation of statutory positions within the ECOWAS Commission and institutions of the Community.

According to the President of the Commission, the post of Vice-President of the Commission is allocated to Liberia, while the seven Commissioner-positions are allocated as follows:

Macro-economic policy - Mali

Political Affairs, Peace and Security - Nigeria

Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources - Togo

Administration and Finance - Sierra Leone

Customs, Trade, Industry, Free movement, Mines and Tourism - Niger

Infrastructure - The Gambia

Human Development and Gender - Senegal

All sitting Commissioners are expected to have completed their tenure by December 2011, with the exception of Senegal, whose tenure ends in June 2012.

President Gbeho explained that there is the possibility of creating one or two additional Commissioner-positions to reduce the workload of some departments.

He further explained that the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government will consult with the Presidents of Benin and Burkina Faso to agree on the country to fill the position of the President of the ECOWAS Commission. 

The country eventually allocated the position of President will present a candidate for appointment by the Heads of State and Government.

The Summit also mandated the President of the Commission to initiate the process for the appointment of the Commissioners.

The allocation of statutory posts is within the framework of the restructuring of ECOWAS Institutions and Agencies following the transformation of the ECOWAS Executive Secretariat into the ECOWAS Commission in 2007.