Addressing the virtual 58th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, President Muhammadu Buhari has called for the restructuring of ECOWAS. He expressed the view that ECOWAS required to streamline its management in tune with the current realities.
A lean and compact leadership he said was imperative to enhance the efficiency and performance of the organization. The top heavy structure of Ecowas with 23 statutory appointees was totally unsustainable and emphasised the need to restructure. Such a move will eliminate the power struggle between the large statutory appointees; reduce personnel and overhead costs that could be productively utilised for the execution of projects. He pointed out that the African Union, the continental organization of 55 members, has undertaken a similar exercise and pruned down its commissioners to only six. ECOWAS, with only 15 members, he said had no grounds to maintain 13 commissioners and 10 other statutory appointees.
President Buhari recommended the immediate appointment of a ministerial ad hoc committee to review the proposal of the Maxwells Temp Report and submit a recommendation, at the mid-year summit for consideration and adoption.
Countries that do not support this can sponsor its own statutory appointee as is practiced by other regional organizations like the European Union, President Buhari told the meeting. He further added that ECOWAS which has completed 45 years of existence should adopt the right and bold decisions to enhance its performance.
