Nigeria, on December 13, 2024, paid N85bn ($54m) as group levy to the Financial Group of West African States.
This constitutes 100 per cent of its levy from January 2023 to July 2024.
President of the ECOWAS Fee, Omar Touray, introduced this throughout his opening remarks on the 66th Odd Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Authorities of the ECOWAS.
The assembly is held on the State Home Convention Centre, Abuja.
Touray stated, “The excellent news, and certainly, an excellent information is that for the primary time in 19 years, Nigeria has determined to pay 100 per cent of its group levy from 2023.
“I’m subsequently happy to announce that on Friday 13, December 2024 Nigeria paid N85bn and $54m representing 100 per cent of the 2023 levy and the levy of 2024 as much as July 2024.”
He highlighted this fee as a testomony to the management and dedication of Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian authorities, and its individuals to the ECOWAS group.
Nevertheless, Touray lamented the continued sluggish remittances of the group levy, with a number of member states nonetheless falling behind on their funds.
He emphasised the necessity for this pattern to be reversed to make sure the monetary stability of the group.
“Excellencies, I can not conclude my assertion with out concerning the funds of the group.
“Right here, I’ve each unhealthy information and excellent news. The unhealthy information is that the group levy remittances proceed to be sluggish.
“Quite a few nations have fallen behind with their group levy remittances. This must be reversed,” he said.
Tinubu is internet hosting Sunday’s assembly in his capability as Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Authorities, a task he assumed in June 2023.
He was re-elected for a second one-year time period in June 2024.
12 presidents are seated for the conclave holding amidst rising tensions, particularly following the choice of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger to withdraw from ECOWAS in January 2024.
Events will evaluate the organisation’s sanctions on these nations.
They may focus on regional safety to deal with the surge of terrorism within the Sahel and political instability in member states.
They can even evaluate progress and timelines in nations below army rule, with an emphasis on shorter transitions to civilian governance.
On financial integration, the Authority will focus on methods to speed up the adoption of the ECO, ECOWAS’s proposed single forex.
As of December 2024, the remaining member states are Benin Republic, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.