President Bola Tinubu is participating in the 68th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government holding on Sunday at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.
The President is, however, being represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the high-level summit.
Tinubu, who served as Chairman of ECOWAS from July 2023 to July 2025 before handing over to President Julius Bio of Sierra Leone, delegated Shettima to lead Nigeria’s delegation. No official explanation was given for the President’s absence.
According to the draft agenda obtained by our correspondent, leaders and representatives of ECOWAS member states are engaged in a closed-door “special debate on the future of the Community.”
In attendance at the summit are President Julius Bio of Sierra Leone and current ECOWAS Chairman; President Patrice Talon of Benin; President José Maria Neves of Cabo Verde; President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire; President Adama Barrow of The Gambia; President John Mahama of Ghana; President Umaro Embaló of Guinea-Bissau; President Joseph Boakai of Liberia; President Bassirou Faye of Senegal; and President Faure Gnassingbé of Togo.
Mahama recently returned to office as Ghana’s president in January 2025, succeeding Nana Akufo-Addo.
As of the time of filing this report, details of deliberations at the meeting had not been made public.
The emergency meeting comes amid rising political tension in the West African sub-region, following a failed coup attempt in Benin last week.
The development has reportedly strained relations between Nigeria and Burkina Faso, after military officers from Burkina Faso were detained in the military-led country.
