President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, has been elected as the new Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
This was announced at the ongoing 57th ECOWAS Summit in Niamey, Republic of Niger.
The position lasts for a year and involves organising ECOWAS meetings, coordinating responses to issues that arise and in most cases, mediating over potential conflicts. The position also affects other arms of the ECOWAS architecture, such as the Council of Ministers and other statutory meetings.
The 13-member organization, in April appointed Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari as Champion of the COVID-19 response.
Buhari served as ECOWAS Chair between July 2018 and June 2019.