Buhari, 14 other presidents to meet on ECOWAS single currency

President Muhammadu Buhari will on December 21 meet with heads of state of ECOWAS member countries to discuss issues regarding the implementation of the single currency regime.

The meeting, which will hold at the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja, is expected to be attended by leaders of the 15 member countries of the ECOWAS.

The countries that makeup ECOWAS are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

The countries had formally agreed to name the common currency “Eco” and expectations have been very high regarding the commencement date for the monetary union which was initially set for 2020.

The idea of the single currency for the West African region was first mooted almost 30 years ago in the hope of boosting cross-border trade and economic development.

The December 21 meeting, according to findings, will review the macroeconomic convergence report, state of preparedness of the monetary union, the symbol of the single currency, the proposed name of the Central Bank of ECOWAS and the term of reference for the bank.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, confirmed the development on Saturday in Abuja.

She spoke at the closing session of a meeting of the ECOWAS committee of ministers of finance and governors of central banks.

She said, “We have a report that is ready for submission to our presidents who will be meeting on December 21 here in Abuja.

“At the meeting, the presidents will consider the recommendations from this meeting and the decisions they will be taking will now be reported to our countries.”