The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has appointed Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Group, as the pioneer Chairman of the newly established ECOWAS Business Council (EBC).
Naijaonpoint reports that Dr. Omar Touray, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, announced the appointment during the 95th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers meeting on Wednesday in Abuja.
The EBC is established as an independent, private sector-led platform with a crucial mandate to drive economic growth and integration across the sub-region.
Dr. Touray explained that the choice of the Nigerian billionaire was based on his “vast business experience,” which spans not only the ECOWAS sub-region but the entire African continent.
He stressed that the appointment aligns with ECOWAS’s new focus on mobilizing regional capital rather than waiting for external support.
He cited some economic investment fora, such as the Forum Senegal Invest; West African Economic Summit in Nigeria; and ‘Invest in District Savanes’ forum in Côte d’Ivoire, which all took place in West Africa this year.
Touray said: “This appetite for intra-regional investment underscores the need to mobilise capital within our region to build our community, rather than wait for precarious foreign investments.
“I am confident that with the kind of investments we have seen from the likes of Alhaji Dangote, our regional private sector actors can lead the way in the development of our Community, if given the right incentives and opportunity.”
He said that through the EBC, ECOWAS would bring private sector actors together to discuss economic integration, and regional development.
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