West Africa’s regional bloc ECOWAS has appointed Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote as the first chair of its new business council, part of a push to boost private-sector investment and reduce the region’s reliance on foreign capital.
The initiative was announced on Wednesday by Omar Touray, president of the ECOWAS Commission, at the opening of the 95th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers in Abuja.
Touray said the ECOWAS Business Council will serve as a formal platform for private-sector actors to engage with governments and regional institutions on trade, investment and economic integration.
“We are moving forward with the operationalisation of the ECOWAS Business Council. We have identified Alhaji Aliko Dangote to be the pioneer Chairperson of the Council in view of his vast experience doing business within our subregion and across Africa,” Touray said.
He added that the council is designed to strengthen intra-regional investment and shield West African economies from external shocks. “This appetite for intra-regional investment underscores the need to mobilise capital within our region to build our Community rather than wait for precarious foreign investments,” he said.
Touray warned that overdependence on foreign capital continues to expose member states to global market volatility. He said Dangote’s track record demonstrates that the regional private sector “can lead the way in the development of our Community, if given the right incentives and opportunity.”
The ECOWAS chief also raised concerns over rising debts within the West African Power Pool (WAPP), saying unpaid obligations by national utilities are undermining the region’s energy market and threatening ongoing electricity-integration efforts. He urged governments to prioritise debt recovery to stabilise cross-border power exchanges.
Touray’s remarks also touched on regional priorities including monetary integration, economic resilience, counter-terrorism measures and updates on the bloc’s budget, audits and annual work programme. “It is our hope that your deliberations will pave the way for a region that is self-sufficient, free from external control and vulnerability to external economic shocks,” he said.
Sierra Leone’s foreign minister Timothy Kabba, who chairs the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, called for deeper collaboration to confront insecurity, democratic setbacks and economic stagnation.
“This meeting reaffirms our steadfast dedication to regional cooperation, guided by our collective vision of an integrated and prosperous West Africa,” Kabba said. He noted that the session coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Lagos, which established ECOWAS in 1975.
Kabba urged member states to strengthen trade and transport links, expand energy connectivity and fully leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area to accelerate growth. He warned that terrorism, violent extremism, organised crime and recent coups pose severe threats to the region.
He reiterated ECOWAS’ “zero tolerance” for unconstitutional changes of government, condemning recent instability in Guinea-Bissau and the attempted coup in Benin. “These acts strike at the heart of constitutional order, democratic governance, and the collective values that bind us as a community,” he said.
Nigeria’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, delivering a welcome address, said political instability and prolonged transitions in several countries risk eroding democratic gains and undermining regional cohesion. She called for sustained defence of constitutional order and inclusive political dialogue.
Highlighting the region’s demographic weight more than 400 million people, 65 percent of them under 25 she urged deeper economic integration to create opportunities for young people through expanded value chains and increased intra-regional trade.
Ministers will over the two-day meeting review reports and memoranda on governance, integration, agriculture, peace and security, humanitarian issues and institutional reforms. Their recommendations will be submitted to ECOWAS heads of state for adoption.
Who is Dangote in the ECOWAS regional bloc
Aliko Dangote is a Nigerian billionaire industrialist and the founder of the Dangote Group, one of Africa’s largest conglomerates. Born on April 10, 1957, he built his fortune through large-scale manufacturing in cement, sugar, salt, flour, fertiliser, and oil refining.
