May 27, 2025
By ISAAC DANIEL
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has left Abuja on Tuesday for Lagos to celebrate, along with other leaders, the 50th anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President made the announcement yesterday through a State House Press Statement.
Onanuga informed that the the ECOWAS golden jubilee celebration flagged off in Accra last month. He added that the Lagos events will include reenacting the 1975 declaration at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs in Victoria Island.
“At the Eko Hotels and Suites event, President Tinubu, the Chairman of ECOWAS, will highlight the economic bloc’s milestones.
“The Chairman of the NIIA and former Minister of External Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, will review the bloc’s 50-year journey, which panellists at the NIIA will later analyse”, he said.
According to the press release, only surviving Head of State who signed the ECOWAS declaration, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (Rtd), will participate in all the ceremonies and deliver a speech at the Eko Hotels.
Dr Omar Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, will deliver the welcome address.
Meanwhile, in a related Press Statement by the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs state that ECOWAS at 50 celebration is a worthy event. “We are celebrating 50 years of unity, cooperation, and regional resilience.
It was founded in 1975 by visionary leaders like General Yakubu Gowon and General Gnassingbé Eyadéma, ECOWAS emerged as a bold step to overcome the colonial divisions that once fragmented West Africa. From fostering economic collaboration to championing political stability.
“ECOWAS has stood as a living symbol of what West Africa can achieve when it speaks and acts as one”, the press release added.
“As we count down to this golden jubilee, we reflect on ECOWAS’s transformation from an economic bloc into a dynamic force for peace, integration, and inclusive development. From ECOMOG peacekeeping missions to advancing Vision 2050 and supporting free trade under the AfCFTA.
ECOWAS continues to shape a future where the people of West Africa thrive together. Get ready to celebrate the legacy and the promise of a stronger, more united region he
