Two meeting rooms at the ECOWAS Representation in Benin now carry the names of Marcel de Souza, former ECOWAS Commission Chair, and Lamine Cisse, founding President of the Union of ECOWAS Nationals.
Ambassador Amadou Diongue, the Resident Representative, inaugurated the rooms on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, according to a report from the Economic Community of West African States.
The ceremony drew a representative from Benin’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a representative from the country’s National ECOWAS Office at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, members of the de Souza and Cisse families, and representatives from UR-ECOWAS and ECOWOMAN.
In remarks at the event, Diongue described the dedication as an effort to keep the two figures present in the institution’s daily work.
He said the aim was to inscribe their names into the life of the Representation so that meetings, exchanges and decisions held there might be imbued with the spirit that animated them.
The Ambassador framed the gesture as a message to those who come after: that men existed who, through their faith in Africa, blazed a trail others have a duty to follow.
He added that ECOWAS does not forget those who dedicated their lives, talents and vision to the Community’s cause.
De Souza, described in the report as an illustrious son of the Republic of Benin, served as Chairperson of the ECOWAS Commission from 2016 to 2018.
His tenure, the report states, was marked by leadership defined by a clear vision of regional integration grounded in solidarity among peoples and the primacy of dialogue.
He is remembered in the statement as a statesman and a man of conviction who combined grandeur of vision with humility of service.
Cisse, the founding President of the Union of ECOWAS Nationals, is credited in the report with dedicating his life to strengthening bonds between communities in the region.
The statement notes that the Union he built, the men and women he brought together, and the bridges he established between communities remain active.
Representatives of the de Souza and Cisse families, the report says, expressed appreciation and gratitude to Diongue and, through him, to the Chairperson of the Commission and to ECOWAS as a whole.
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