President Bola Tinubu on Sunday urged West African leaders to close ranks against fresh shocks to democracy, citing the recent coup attempt in the Benin Republic and renewed instability in Guinea-Bissau.

Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, spoke when he gave the opening address at the 68th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government at the State House, Abuja, on Sunday.

“The external threats confronting West Africa today demand nothing less than a united front, terrorism, violent extremism, unconstitutional changes of government, transnational organised crime, arms for liberation, cyber insecurity, climate shocks, food insecurity and irregular migration,” said Tinubu.

He framed the moment as an existential test for the bloc, warning that West Africa “is most vulnerable, not when challenged from outside, but when weakened from within.”

“We do not share geography by accident. We share it by design, by history and by the enduring logic of kinship. West Africa is not a random assemblage of borders grown by chance. It is a family bound by memory, culture, struggle and aspiration,” Tinubu affirmed.

He argued that Nigeria’s position is that persuasion and solidarity, not force, must steer ECOWAS through its current storms.

Reflecting on the governance crisis in the region, Tinubu said, “We have, in recent times, allowed our differences to shake the very foundations of our union.

“We remain persuaded that fraternity, not force, must define the future of our community. Yet history reminds us that ECOWAS can only fulfil its purpose or aspiration when every member state upholds the values of purity, justice and equality within its domestic affairs.

“A community is only as strong as its trust its members repose in one another. Our shared challenge is to ensure that internal divisions do not erode the collective sense we have built over decades.”

Linking the Benin and Guinea-Bissau scares to wider regional threats, he pressed for a single voice on security, governance and economics.

Tinubu said, “No single member state, regardless of size or theme, can achieve enduring stability in isolation. Our security, prosperity and resilience are better built together. We must sit at the same table, speak with one voice and act with shared results.”

Sunday’s meeting convenes after five turbulent years for West Africa, which saw coups in Mali (2020, 2021), Burkina Faso (twice in 2022), and Niger (2023).

The developments also fractured the regional order, with the juntas in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso announcing withdrawal from ECOWAS in early 2024.

The latest flashpoints include an attempted coup in Benin on December 7, 2025, and renewed instability in Guinea-Bissau, which former President Goodluck Jonathan described as a “ceremonial coup.”

Following the December 7 putsch attempt, Tinubu, responding to requests from the Béninoise government, ordered the deployment of jets and troops to quell the attacks.

On December 9, the Senate approved Tinubu’s request to send Nigerian troops to the Republic of Benin to help restore calm and stability.

Benin’s foreign ministry said about 200 West African soldiers, mainly from Nigeria and the Ivory Coast, are in the country to support the government.

Recognising the quick response of member states to the Benin incident, ECOWAS Chair, President Julius Bio of Sierra Leone, condemned the resurgence of unconstitutional power grabs in West Africa and warned that instability in one state endangers all.

“The instability in Guinea-Bissau and the attempted coup d’état in Benin remind us that democracy requires constant vigilance and principled action. On behalf of this Authority, I strongly condemn the unconstitutional change of government in Guinea-Bissau and the attempt to subvert the constitutional order in Benin.

“I commend the rapid mobilisation of ECOWAS troops and air assets, with Nigeria taking the lead to safeguard constitutional order in Benin”, he told leaders.

Bio said the collective response “reaffirms an essential principle: ECOWAS does not and will not compromise on democratic governance,” pledging solidarity with the peoples of Guinea-Bissau and Benin.

He framed the meeting as a hinge moment for the 50-year-old bloc as it confronts terrorism, violent extremism and organised crime spreading across borders.

“West Africa faces some of the most complex and evolving threats in its history. Our response must therefore be united and uncompromising. Security is not only a military obligation; it is a human imperative”, he said.

Bio also outlined steps to operationalise an ECOWAS Standby Force for counter-terrorism, backed by a sustainable financing plan.

“We must strengthen collective action, integrated intelligence systems, coordinated border operations and the operationalisation of ECOWAS Standby Force for counter-terrorism. Our ministers of finance and defence are advancing modalities for sustainable financing and preparing to raise a 1,650-personnel counter-terrorism brigade by the end of 2026,” he said.

Beyond security, the Sierra Leonean leader pressed for deeper economic integration to shore up public confidence in democracy, from harmonised trade rules and an ECOWAS single market aligned with AfCFTA to reviving the single currency target.

“The work of the ECOWAS Convergence Council has already brought renewed momentum to a single currency target by 2027,” he noted, calling a common currency a transformative tool to expand trade and competitiveness.

Bio also announced a travel-cost relief to make integration tangible for citizens.

He said, “Beginning January 1, 2026, our community will implement a landmark measure to reduce the cost of air travel across West Africa. Under this agreement, member states will abolish air transport taxes and reduce passenger and security charges by 25 per cent. By lowering these barriers, ECOWAS is demonstrating leadership that is practical, people-centred and responsive to the realities of everyday life.”

Meanwhile, President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Touray, praised the bloc’s deployment of “moral and military might” to foil the December 7 attempt to upend civilian rule in Benin Republic.

“The Chair of Authority, President Julius Maada Bio, in coordination with his peers, President Bola Tinubu, President John Mahama and President Alassane Ouattara, as the Commanders-in-Chief of their Armed Forces, led their Republican Armed Forces to join the Republican Armed Forces of Benin to thwart the attempted coup.

“May I invite Your Excellencies to recognise this feat with your applause,” said Touray.

He revealed that the Authority would also issue decisions beyond routine budget and programme matters as it confronts shifting geopolitics and security headwinds that threaten the bloc’s Vision 2050 targets.

He explained, “Besides the usual institutional memorandum relating to the community work programme, budget and performance. The Authority will also be making pronouncements on the different issues affecting our community as part of the ongoing consultations on the future of our community. The attainment of our Vision 2050 is today impacted by changes in the global landscape and dynamics within the sub-region.”

Touray argued that the challenge to multilateralism, the rise of multipolarity and the pressure on African countries to make choices about partnerships, new technologies and the entrenchment of terrorism and violent extremism in the Sahel, among others, have profound effects on ECOWAS’ ability to attain the 2050 Vision objectives.

“Your pronouncement on the future will be about the revitalisation of our integration process,” he told leaders.

Touray announced the take-off of the ECOWAS Business Council to deepen private-sector-led integration, with industrialist Aliko Dangote accepting to serve as the pioneer chair.

“We are reinvigorating our economic integration objectives by moving forward with the operationalisation of the ECOWAS Business Council. Alhaji Aliko Dangote has gracefully accepted our invitation to serve as the pioneer chairperson.

“Through the Council, we hope to get the private sector actors to help with mobilising regional capital and developing the comparative advantage of our member states,” he noted.

He said the Council would become the formal platform for government–business dialogue and promised a West African economic investment summit “in the near future.”

“Hopefully, we will be having our own Davos-like platforms for our community, where regional economic investment will be coordinated and progress regularly monitored,” he added.

Sunday’s session is a special debate on the future of the Community.

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