The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has unveiled a new six-pillar strategic initiative, dubbed the “Compact for the Future of Regional Integration,” aimed at redefining the bloc’s political, economic, and security architecture amid growing regional challenges.
The ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, presented the initiative on Thursday during the ongoing First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja.
Describing the initiative as a “survival strategy” for the regional bloc, Musah said the compact seeks to strengthen regional integration and reposition ECOWAS to respond more effectively to evolving political, economic, and security realities across West Africa.
According to him, the initiative is intended to transform ECOWAS from a body largely associated with policy declarations into one capable of delivering tangible public benefits such as security, economic mobility, and digital connectivity to citizens.
“The Compact is designed to operationalise the ECOWAS Vision 2050 and represents a fundamental reset of the regional integration agenda, shifting the bloc from an elite-driven ‘ECOWAS of States’ to an ‘ECOWAS of Peoples,’” Musah stated.
He acknowledged that ECOWAS was currently facing one of the most critical periods in its history since its establishment in 1975, citing governance failures, democratic backsliding, and the emergence of alternative regional alliances such as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), comprising Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.
Musah disclosed that the initiative was adopted by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government during a recent summit in Abuja, where leaders proposed a Special Summit on the Future of Regional Integration.
He added that the draft framework emerged from broad consultations involving citizens across West Africa, civil society organisations, members of the African diaspora, ECOWAS institutions, and regional leaders.
“The Compact seeks to rebuild trust between states and their peoples, ensuring that regional integration remains relevant, citizen-centred, and capable of addressing 21st-century challenges,” he said.
The commissioner explained that the framework is built around six strategic pillars: sustainable economic transformation; peace, security and democratic governance; science and technology; social inclusion; institutional reform; and ECOWAS geopolitical positioning.
Under the economic transformation pillar, ECOWAS plans to increase intra-regional trade to 30 per cent by 2035, promote industrialisation and food sovereignty, and implement the ECO single currency by 2040.
On governance and security, the bloc reaffirmed its zero-tolerance stance on military coups and unconstitutional constitutional amendments while proposing a strengthened ECOWAS Standby Force to tackle emerging threats across the region.
Musah said the science and technology component envisions the establishment of a Digital Single Market by 2030, while the social inclusion pillar aims to increase women’s representation in leadership positions to 40 per cent and institutionalise youth participation in governance processes.
He further noted that the compact proposes reforms to make ECOWAS institutions more merit-driven, transparent, and financially self-sustaining through the Community Levy by 2030.
A key feature of the initiative, according to Musah, is its emphasis on “strategic autonomy,” which seeks to position ECOWAS as a unified geopolitical actor capable of safeguarding West Africa’s sovereignty in an increasingly multipolar global order.
The framework also outlines mechanisms for structured dialogue and confidence-building with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger in a bid to prevent their permanent disengagement from ECOWAS.
To address the bloc’s longstanding implementation challenges, Musah said the compact introduces a robust monitoring and evaluation framework, including compliance scorecards for member states and evidence-based policy tracking mechanisms.
Parliamentarians at the session extensively debated the implications and prospects of the proposed regional integration framework.
