Kehinde Fajobi
Nigeria made a landmark payment of ₦85 billion ($54 million) to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on December 13, 2024, covering 100% of its community levy from January 2023 to July 2024.
This payment was announced by ECOWAS Commission President, Omar Touray, during his opening remarks at the 66th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, held at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja.
Touray expressed his satisfaction, stating, “The good news, and indeed, a very good news is that for the first time in 19 years, Nigeria has decided to pay 100% of its community levy from 2023.
“I am therefore pleased to announce that on Friday 13, December 2024, Nigeria paid N85bn and $54m representing 100% of the 2023 levy and the levy of 2024 up to July 2024.”
He commended Nigeria’s leadership and its commitment to ECOWAS, citing the role of President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian government.
However, Touray also highlighted the ongoing issue of slow community levy payments from several other member states.
“A number of countries have fallen behind with their community levy remittances. This needs to be reversed,” he said, stressing the need for financial stability within the organization.
The meeting, hosted by President Tinubu in his role as Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority, comes at a time of heightened tensions, particularly following Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger’s decision to withdraw from ECOWAS in January 2024.
Leaders will review sanctions on these countries and discuss regional security issues, including the rising threat of terrorism in the Sahel.
The meeting will also focus on political instability in certain member states and strategies for accelerating economic integration, particularly the adoption of ECOWAS’s proposed single currency, the ECO.
As of December 2024, the remaining ECOWAS member states include Benin Republic, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.