Nigeria Urges Fiscal Discipline, Stronger Regional Integration at ECOWAS Council of Ministers

By Iyojo Ameh

Nigeria has called for greater fiscal discipline, improved financial accountability and deeper regional economic integration at the 96th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers held in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Leading the Nigerian delegation, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, commended the ECOWAS Commission for improvements in revenue mobilisation during the first half of 2026, while urging the Commission and other Community institutions to strengthen budget implementation, enhance financial management and ensure the efficient use of resources to deliver tangible benefits to citizens across the region.

The minister also called on ECOWAS to adopt stricter cost-saving measures in response to rising operational expenses, inflation and the economic pressures facing member states, stressing the need to eliminate waste and improve institutional efficiency.

Contributing to discussions on the President’s 2026 Interim Report on the State of the ECOWAS Community, Enikanolaiye praised the outgoing President of the ECOWAS Commission for advancing the bloc’s strategic objectives during his tenure and urged member states to acknowledge his contributions.

On cultural heritage, the minister reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to the recovery and protection of African artefacts, urging member states to strengthen cooperation on the restitution and documentation of cultural property. He cited the recent handover of 23 Nigerian artefacts by Switzerland as evidence of progress under Nigeria’s national restitution framework.

He also backed the adoption of an ECOWAS Action Plan on the restitution and protection of cultural property, calling for stronger legal and institutional frameworks across member states to safeguard the region’s cultural heritage.

Speaking on the proposed institutionalisation of the West Africa Integration and Investment Summit (WAIIS) as a flagship ECOWAS platform, Enikanolaiye reaffirmed Nigeria’s support for initiatives that promote regional investment, strengthen value chains and mobilise private capital, while stressing that the summit should remain private sector-driven to maximise its impact on economic growth and regional integration.