The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, says the subregional bloc must strive to maintain its status as a model of regional integration in Africa, in spite of its prevailing challenges.
Mr Touray said this in Abuja, at a retirement ceremony organised by ECOWAS for its staff members due to quit the service of the commission this year.
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He said that ECOWAS had achieved a lot over the years in the area of free movement of people, intra-regional trading, power, and providing community infrastructure, among many others.
According to him, the people behind those achievements are the staff members, some of whom are on the brink of retirement.
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He expressed appreciation and gratitude to them for doing such tremendous work, adding that those retiring had been part and parcel of that process.
“I believe that together, we can make this community better and still keep it as the model of integration on the continent.
“We do have a long way to go, but I believe we can still continue to keep ECOWAS as a model of regional integration.
“As you all know, ECOWAS heads of state have shown their confidence in the institution by making sure financial constraints that used to bedevil the institution do not really disturb our progress.
“We should continue to justify that confidence, and I am confident that the staff will continue to work to merit that,” he said.
Mr Touray said that in spite of the commission’s numerous achievements, the community was still facing many challenges.
He urged the commission’s staff members to avoid looking at challenges in isolation and instead have a broader perspective to understand that the entire world was in turmoil.
“What is happening in our region is a reflection of the global realities.
“Our attempt to address some of those challenges must be all-inclusive, must be broad, as much as possible.
“Those challenges are surmountable. I am confident that together we should be able to address those challenges,” he said.
While acknowledging that there have been problems, the commission’s president said that there was the will and determination to put those problems behind.
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“Human life is made up of problems, as well as of solutions. Our strength does not lie in having no problem. Our strength lies in our capacity to overcome some of those problems.
“I believe that the solution to those problems lies in your hands, in the hands of staff, as members of the community,” he said.
Also speaking, ECOWAS Vice President Damtien Tchintchibidja told the staff members that everyone had a role to play in the organisation, adding that the work they do has an impact on the overall community.
“ECOWAS is you; it is me; it’s every single one of us.
“It is important that we defend the colours, the values of ECOWAS and build a better place for our community, for our children, for generations to come,” she said.
Nazif Darma, ECOWAS Commissioner for Internal Services, said the commission’s biggest assets were its human resources who worked daily to drive its project and programme implementation impacting its 400 million citizens.
Responding on behalf of the retirees, the ECOWAS Director of Private Sector, Tony Elumelu, thanked the management for organising the retirement ceremony.
“There are two things we celebrate, when we’re coming and when we go. And seeing your faces as we depart, we are encouraged,” Mr Elumelu said.
