President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday cautioned that the ambition for
\nECO regional currency could be in ‘serious jeopardy,’ unless member
\nstates complied with agreed processes of reaching the collective goal.<\/p>\n
President Buhari also expressed concern over the decision of francophone
\ncountries that form the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA)
\nto replace the CFA Franc with Eco ahead of the rest of Member States.<\/p>\n
The President delivered Nigeria’s position on the new regional currency
\nat a virtual extraordinary meeting of the Authority of Heads of State
\nand Government of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ).<\/p>\n
The meeting discussed the implementation of the ECOWAS Monetary
\nCooperation Programme (EMCP) and the ECOWAS Single Currency Agenda.<\/p>\n
”Your Excellencies, you all are familiar with the history of the Eco
\nthus far, so I will not bore you with that. We reverted to a single
\ntrack approach, giving up Eco which is the original idea of the WAMZ so
\nthe ECOWAS-wide programme could thrive.<\/p>\n
”In this regard, we have made remarkable progress including the
\nadoption of the Exchange Rate regime, the name and model of the common
\nCentral Bank and the symbol.<\/p>\n
”We have urged our Ministers towards an expeditious path to success.
\nIt, therefore, gives me an uneasy feeling that the UEMOA Zone now wishes
\nto take up the Eco in replacement for its CFA Franc ahead of the rest of
\nthe Member States.<\/p>\n
”This is in addition to deviating from the Community Act on a
\nconsistent attainment of convergence in the three years running up to
\nthe introduction of the currency, and our subsequent reinforcing
\ndirectives.<\/p>\n
”I am informed that the French Ministers have approved a bill to reform
\nthe CFA Franc and most, if not all of the UEMOA Member States, have
\nalready passed legislations in their various Parliaments to that effect.<\/p>\n
”It is a matter of concern that a people with whom we wish to go into a
\nunion are taking these major steps without trusting us for discussion,”
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
President Buhari, who assured ECOWAS leaders of Nigeria’s commitment to
\nthe ECOWAS single currency, urged them to critically consider the
\nrecommendations made by the Convergence Council and take a common
\nposition to safeguard the West African Monetary Zone from the pitfalls
\nof a questionable union.<\/p>\n
He affirmed Nigeria’s support for a monetary union with the right
\nfundamentals, which guarantees credibility, sustainability and overall
\nregional prosperity and sovereignty.<\/p>\n
According to the President, Nigeria also believes that given the
\npotential contractions and even losses from the global Covid-19
\npandemic, member states cannot but be too cautious about ensuring
\ncompliance with the set standards.<\/p>\n
”We cannot ridicule ourselves by entering a union to disintegrate,
\npotentially no sooner than we enter into it.<\/p>\n
”We need to be clear and unequivocal about our position regarding this
\nprocess. We must also communicate same to the outside world effectively.
\nWe have all staked so much in this project to leave things to mere
\nexpediencies and convenience.<\/p>\n
”My dear colleagues, Heads of State and Government, It is obvious that
\nwe are at a crossroads.<\/p>\n
”We must proceed with caution and comply with the agreed process of
\nreaching our collective goal while treating each other with utmost
\nrespect. Without these, our ambitions for a strategic Monetary Union as
\nan ECOWAS bloc could very well be in serious jeopardy,” he said.<\/p>\n
In the light of the caution raised by Nigeria and some other West
\nAfrican countries at the meeting, ECOWAS leaders resolved to convene an
\nenlarged meeting of the regional bloc on the single currency issue.<\/p>\n
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday cautioned that the ambition for ECO regional currency could be in ‘serious jeopardy,’ unless member states complied with agreed processes of reaching the collective goal.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":71343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n