President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria has been elected as chairman of ECOWAS to take over from Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe.
Buhari was elected as chairman at the 53rd session of the ECOWAS Summit of Heads of states in Lome on Tuesday.
Preceding the Heads of State summit was a joint summit between ECOWAS and the Central African bloc, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).
A communique issued at the close of the summit said its aim “was to create conditions for sustainable peace and a secured environment in the common area of the two regions.â€
At the heart of deliberations were: security, peace and stability and the fight against terrorism and violent extremism. The African Union chief, Moussa Faki Mahamat was also in attendance.
Heads of Stae or representative from the ECOWAS were Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
Also, a Ghanaian High Court Judge was Tuesday, July 31, 2018, sworn in together with three others to man the ECOWAS Court of Justice as part of the opening ceremony of the 53rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of heads of states and governments of the sub-regional body.
Justice Edward Amoako Asante, who commenced his work as a circuit court judge and rose to the high court in Ghana would now sit with six other colleagues on the seven-member panel to adjudicate issues.
Justice Asante who has been at the bench and bar for 23years swore the oath before the 15 member ECOWAS heads of states.
Ghana's delegation to the summit was led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.