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Agence de Presse Ouest-Africaine

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Agence de Presse Ouest-Africaine

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Defense and Security

ECOWAS Standby Force Chief, Nigerian Navy Chief Meet in Abuja on Maritime Security

By Daniel Inaju - Challydoff Limited

The Chief of Staff of the ECOWAS Standby Force, Brigadier General Sheikh Sulaiman Massaquoi, paid a courtesy call on Nigerian Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Idi Abbas at Naval Headquarters in Abuja on 11 September 2026. The two sides discussed regional security, maritime cooperation, strategic mobility and logistics support, with the naval chief calling for stronger regional maritime cooperation and sustained efforts to keep the ECOWAS Standby Force operationally ready.

Business & Economy

WAGPA Reports 22% Gas Supply Rise as ECOWAS Commissioner Pledges Support

By Daniel Inaju - Challydoff Limited

The West African Gas Pipeline Authority has reported a 22% increase in gas supply compared with previous years, its Director General Chafari Kanya Hanawa told ECOWAS Commissioner Amin Amidu Sulemani during a courtesy visit. Hanawa outlined the pipeline's origins in a 1982 ECOWAS initiative and a 2003 treaty signed by Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo, with commercial operations starting in 2011. Sulemani pledged support for the authority's work and called for collaboration on regional energy integration.

Agriculture & Food Security

ECOWAS Ministers Adopt Three Animal Health Strategies

By Daniel Inaju - Challydoff Limited

Animal health ministers from the Economic Community of West African States adopted three regional strategies at a meeting in Lomé, Togo, on 8 October 2026. The plans cover donkey protection and conservation through 2030, and the prevention and control of foot-and-mouth disease and avian influenza for 2027 to 2031. The donkey strategy includes a commitment to ban trade in donkey skins, while the other two set out measures on surveillance, vaccination, data sharing and coordination through the Regional Animal Health Centre.

Defense and Security

ECOWAS Standby Force Chief of Staff Meets Nigerian Army Chief in Abuja

By Daniel Inaju - Challydoff Limited

Brigadier General Sheikh Massaquoi, Chief of Staff of the ECOWAS Standby Force, paid a courtesy call on Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, in Abuja on September 30, 2026. The meeting focused on strengthening cooperation between the ECOWAS Commission's military component and the Nigerian Army in areas including regional security, operational readiness, training and logistics support.

Health Care Programmes

Africa’s National Genome Projects Take Shape, but Scale Is Not the Measure

By Mohamed Zahir Alimohamed

A new paper examines national genome projects across Africa, where Tunisia, Egypt and Senegal have launched initiatives and government-led efforts in Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa are at earlier stages. The authors argue that sequencing must be paired with local expertise, data governance and sustained funding, and that the number of genomes read should not be the main measure of success.

West African Politics

ECOWAS Mission Checks Free Movement Rules at Togo Borders

By Daniel Inaju - Challydoff Limited

ECOWAS officials carried out a five-day fact-finding mission from 21 to 25 September 2026 to check how free movement rules are applied at Togo's borders with Benin and Ghana. The delegation, led by Resident Representative H.E. Ms Deweh Emily Gray, visited the Tohoun and Kémérida crossings on the Togo–Benin route and Natchamba and Noépé-Akanu on the Togo–Ghana route. The data collected will be consolidated into an analysis identifying difficulties, good practices and operational recommendations.

West African Politics

ECOWAS Political Affairs Directorate Holds Second Seminar on Global Africa, China-US Dynamic

By Daniel Inaju - Challydoff Limited

The Political Affairs Directorate of the ECOWAS Commission held the second edition of its Brown Bag seminar on 7 October 2026 in Abuja, Nigeria, on the theme "The New Has Not Yet Been Born: Global Africa in the Era of Chimerica." Professor Adekeye Adebajo of the University of Pretoria was the guest speaker, and participants included diplomats, multilateral organisation personnel, ECOWAS directorates, the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, CDD, WADEMOS and the Nigerian National Defence College.

West African Politics

Five New ECOWAS Court Judges Sworn In for Single Four-Year Term

By Daniel Inaju - Challydoff Limited

Five judges were sworn in at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja on 6 October 2026 for a four-year, non-renewable term. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal presided and urged the new judges to uphold the credibility of the Community justice system, while ECOWAS Commission President Birame Diop paid tribute to the outgoing judges.

West African Politics

Guinea-Bissau’s New Constitution Strengthens Presidential Powers After Referendum

By João Espírito Santo

Guinea-Bissau approved a new constitution in an August 30, 2026 referendum that strengthens presidential powers over the prime minister and government. The reform, held under a junta that took power in a November 2025 coup, is presented by transition authorities as a path to stability before a December 6 presidential election, while the opposition warns it concentrates executive power and weakens checks and balances.