By Levinus Nwabughiogu

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas has said that with the emergence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Africa sub-region will witness rapid development through exemplary leadership.

It will be recalled that Tinubu emerged as the new Chairman of ECOWAS at the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government on Sunday in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, in a unanimous endorsement on Sunday.

In a congratulatory message on the Nigerian president’s new role, Abbas expressed confidence in Tinubu to deploy his wealth of experience in public administration in spearheading sustainable socio-economic plans for the African sub-region.

He said the Nigerian president would join hands with other ECOWAS leaders to turn things around in the sub-regional body.

“I congratulate His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on his unanimous adoption as the Chairman of ECOWAS in the just concluded 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the West African States.

“It is an affirmation of President Tinubu’s popularity beyond Nigeria and among his colleagues in West Africa. There are no doubts that the African sub-region will witness exemplary leadership with the Nigerian President as ECOWAS chairman”, the speaker said.

Tinubu had after he received handover documents from the outgoing Chairman and President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Embaló, said, “We will take democracy seriously, Democracy is very tough but it is the form of government.”

The immediate past Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, had occupied the position from 2018 to 2019.

The ECOWAS chairmanship is a position held by one of the heads of states or governments of the member countries, chosen on a rotating basis for one-year tenure.