Former Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Emmanuel Bombande, has lauded the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for its contributions to regional stability and integration, despite the bloc facing significant challenges in recent years.

Speaking on JoyNews' NewsDesk, Mr Bombande emphasised that ECOWAS has, over the decades, proven to be a critical institution for the political and economic development of West Africa.

“ECOWAS has worked well for us as a West African region,” he stated.

He added, “If you look at the antecedents of its formation, what becomes clear is the gradual development and growth of our own indigenous multilateral organisation.”

According to Mr Bombande, the initial focus of ECOWAS was to promote integration through regional trade and commerce.

However, the reality of widespread instability, both internal and cross-border, in many member states soon forced the bloc to rethink its priorities.

“But we realise sooner than later that you could not be talking about the integration that is revolving around trade,” he explained.

This pressing need for a shift in approach led to the revision of the ECOWAS Treaty in 1993, which, according to Mr Bombande, marked a pivotal moment in the bloc's history.

“So, we had a revision of the ECOWAS treaty in 1993, which then gave us the impetus to respond in my view assertively and proactively to the destabilisation that was almost going to paralyse the region. ECOWAS has worked for us, the regrettable thing is that we have a huge setback,” he said.