AGENCY REPORT
“We sympathise and extend our deep condolences to affected countries and the families of the victims.”
President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana and Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government has called for concerted actions by member countries to effectively tackle insecurity in the region.
Akufo-Addo made the appeal on Saturday during the 58th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, which was held virtually.
He said that the sub-region continued to face critical security challenges with deadly terrorist attacks in Mali, northeastern Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Niger, as he condemned the attacks in the region and community.
“We sympathise and extend our deep condolences to affected countries and the families of the victims.
“These developments must reinforce our conviction that we must pursue, even more vigorously, the actions we have begun, with the rapid implementation of the decisions of our Extraordinary Summit on Terrorism, held on 14th September 2019.
“This concerted effort, which must be a major priority objective of the community, is the best way for us to address collectively, the security challenge.
“And give ourselves the means to ensure the security of the populations of our community. Our dignity and our sovereignty are at stake,” Mr Akufo-Addo was quoted as saying.
Akufo-Addo commended member countries who have kept to their commitments of paying their financial contribution to the US$1 billion ECOWAS Regional Security Fund (ERSF), created in support of the 2020-2024 Anti-Terrorism Action Plan.
The chairman said that raising the money had to be a high priority for ECOWAS because it enabled member states to act independently in the crisis.
