Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio has been elected Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of State and Government.

His election took place during the 67th Ordinary Summit of ECOWAS, held Sunday in Abuja, Nigeria.

President Bio will serve a one-year term in the rotating leadership position, succeeding Nigerian President Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

His appointment comes at a pivotal moment for the West African bloc, which is grappling with a series of political and security crises across the region.

A former Brigadier General, Bio briefly served as Sierra Leone’s military head of state in 1996 before transitioning to civilian leadership.

He was elected president in 2018 and re-elected in 2023, amid contested political conditions and ongoing domestic unrest.

His leadership of ECOWAS begins against a backdrop of significant regional turmoil. Sierra Leone itself faces internal instability, with recent reports of attempted coups and the continued exile of former President Ernest Bai Koroma, who remains in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the regional bloc is contending with the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, who have formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) in defiance of ECOWAS.

President John Dramani Mahama was among the high-profile attendees at the Abuja summit and has since returned to Ghana.