67th ECOWAS Summit: Heads of State Chart Path for Regional Stability

 The 67th Ordinary Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of State and Government concluded in Abuja on Sunday, June 22, with leaders adopting measures to enhance security, trade, and integration across the 15-member bloc. 

Hosted by outgoing chair President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria, the summit saw Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio assume the chairmanship.

Key resolutions included a $2.3 billion 2026 budget, with $920 million for peacekeeping in Mali and Burkina Faso, addressing 5,000 terrorism-related deaths in 2024. The summit condemned coups in Niger and Burkina Faso, urging dialogue to reintegrate junta-led states. Leaders endorsed a $500 million renewable energy fund to boost electricity access, currently at 50% region-wide, per ECOWAS data. Bio committed to advancing the AfCFTA, noting intra-regional trade’s rise to 12% in 2024.

The summit addressed climate challenges, with 10 million displaced by floods in 2024, per the African Union. Tinubu’s handover to Bio was lauded by Senegal’s Bassirou Faye, who called for youth-focused policies, given 60% of West Africa’s population is under 25. Challenges remain, including ECOWAS’s sanctions on Niger, which strained regional unity. The summit’s outcomes aim to stabilize a region facing economic and security headwinds.