ECOWAS: Bio Seeks Urgent Recruitment After Sahel Exodus

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Bio has solicited the timely recruitment of staff members to fill vacant ECOWAS critical positions, following the recent withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger from the institution.

Bio, who is the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, appealed while declaring open an Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Administration and Finance Committee (AFC) in Abuja.

The event brought together ECOWAS member states to assess progress towards filling key vacancies and facilitate institutional efficiency and financial sustainability.

Represented by Mr Komba Momoh, AFC Chairman and Head, ECOWAS National Office, Sierra Leone, Bio urged participants to carefully examine a detailed memorandum on the recruitment process to fill the vacancies.

He said that the objective of the session was to ensure that the vacant positions precipitated by the Sahel states’ exit were filled “in a timely, merit-based and regionally balanced manner.

“This Extraordinary Session is expected to make concrete recommendations on how to accelerate the recruitment timetable, improve coordination between ECOWAS organs on staffing issues and reinforce oversight of human resource management, in line with the organisation’s revised institutional reform agenda.

“The Authority and the Council of Ministers are committed to supporting the commission and its specialised committees to stabilise the institution, safeguard its operational efficiency and preserve the gains of regional integration, despite ongoing political and financial headwinds facing the community.”

Mrs Damtien Tchintchibidja, ECOWAS Commission Vice-President, in an address of welcome, underscored the importance of the AFC’s guidance and support in implementing the recruitment plan without delay.

She said the exercise was taking place at a particularly challenging time of persistent difficulties in collecting the ECOWAS Community Levy, which she noted had dropped by 20 per cent.

She added that “these fiscal constraints make it even more urgent to ensure that recruitment is transparent, strategic and aligns with ECOWAS priorities.

“This will ensure that every position filled contributes directly to strengthening the commission’s capacity to deliver on its mandate to citizens.”