PHOTOS: Gowon, Tinubu, West African Presidents Mark ECOWAS @50
President Bola Tinubu and former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon on Wednesday joined other West African leaders to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The event was held at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs in Lagos — the same venue where the original ECOWAS treaty was signed in 1975.
General Gowon, the only surviving signatory among the founding leaders, was specially honoured for his pivotal role in establishing the regional bloc.
Presidents from Liberia, Togo, and Guinea-Bissau were in attendance and reaffirmed their commitment to ECOWAS’s founding principles of regional integration, peace, and economic cooperation.
Notably absent from the celebrations were representatives from Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, who have distanced themselves from the bloc following recent political upheavals in their countries.
The anniversary celebrations will continue at Eko Hotel and Suites.
