President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been appointed as the new chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Ahead of the Sunday meeting of regional heads of state, President Tinubu departed Abuja on Saturday to attend the gathering of the political and economic bloc.

Diplomatic sources stated that Tinubu will succeed President Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau in this role.

The 63rd ordinary session of the authority of heads of state and government will take place in Bissau, the capital city of Guinea-Bissau.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari previously served as the ECOWAS chairman in 2018.

President Tinubu, who assumed the Nigerian presidency in May 2023 after succeeding Buhari, will be attending his first international engagement on the African continent at the ECOWAS meeting.

He recently participated in the summit on ‘A New Global Financing Pact’ hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, France, in June.

During the ECOWAS heads of state summit, crucial sub-regional matters will be addressed, including “reports on security challenges faced by member countries, the financial situation of ECOWAS, the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and the status of transition in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.”

Established in 1975, ECOWAS currently comprises 15 member states with a combined population of 387 million and a nominal GDP of $816 billion.

The member states are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.