Spokesman: President Bio Did Not Seek Re-Election as ECOWAS Chair

Spokesman: President Bio Did Not Seek Re-Election as ECOWAS Chair

During an interview on Radio Democracy 98.1 FM, Presidential Spokesman Alpha Kanu refuted claims that President Julius Maada Bio attempted to secure a second term as Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.

Kanu stated that President Bio did not contest or campaign for re-election and was fully aware his one-year tenure was concluding and understood that the role is not automatically renewable without consensus among member states. 

"The President was aware he had to hand over the leadership," Kanu explained, adding that the chairmanship is "not a gift to keep unless it is by consensus."

Kanu added that President Bio chose not to pursue an extension, a decision made to facilitate the selection of a new Chair and prevent a leadership vacuum, while also highlighting the regional bloc's tradition of balancing leadership between Anglophone and Francophone nations to ensure inclusivity, noting,

"It is a necessity to have that balance in ECOWAS."

While the ECOWAS chairmanship is a one-year rotating position, it can be extended by consensus demonstrated in recent times by Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Nigeria) from July 2023 to June 2025, and Nana Akufo-Addo (Ghana) and John Kufuor (Ghana) in 2003 and 2004.

Kanu’s remarks were made in response to ongoing public debate regarding whether President Bio’s leadership record warranted a similar extension.