Group Advises ECOWAS’ Stakeholders On Peaceful, Prosperous Region

The Conflict Research Network West Africa (CORN West Africa) has reaffirmed its commitment to providing data, analysis and evidence that support ECOWAS and policymakers in the region in building a resilient, peaceful and prosperous West Africa.

While welcoming the appointment of Dr Habibu Yaya Bappah as ECOWAS commissioner for Internal Services, the group’s executive director, Dr. Timipere Felix Allison, in a statement on Monday, called on all stakeholders to sustain their engagement on addressing the challenges of governance and working towards an ECOWAS of the people in the region.

It is considered the appointment as a decisive and timely move that would strengthen institutional governance, administrative efficiency, and internal coordination within the ECOWAS Commission.

“CORN West Africa calls on all stakeholders to sustain their engagement on addressing the challenges of governance and working towards an ECOWAS of the people in the region”, it said.

The group Bappah’s appointment is a clear signal of commitment by ECOWAS leadership to deepening institutional effectiveness and reinforcing the foundations necessary for sustainable regional integration.

“This appointment is in line with a key recommendation at CORN West Africa’s ‘ECOWAS at 50’ regional conference, held in November, in Abuja, Nigeria.

“At that conference, policymakers, scholars, civil society leaders, and practitioners collectively agreed that as ECOWAS marks its 50th anniversary, strengthening the institution’s internal capacity and governance architecture is central to repositioning the regional bloc for relevance, resilience, and effectiveness in a rapidly changing West Africa.

“In this light, CORN West Africa considers the appointment of Dr Bappah to be a critical step toward translating this consensus into action. Strong institutions remain the backbone of effective regional governance, and capable leadership within ECOWAS’s internal services is essential for delivering on the ambitions of ECOWAS Vision 2050.

“Bappah is, without a doubt, a seasoned technocrat and accomplished scholar whose professional career spans over two decades, including almost half of that in the executive core of the Commission.

“His extensive experience across finance, political affairs, peace and security, as well as economic and financial integration, positions him uniquely to lead the Internal Services portfolio with the depth, institutional memory, and strategic clarity required at this moment”, the group added.