A new common currency for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

The Abuja summit (Nigeria) is the historic one. Meeting at their 54th Ordinary Summit, West African Heads of State (ECOWAS) made important decisions for the smooth running of their sub-region.

Among these resolutions, the creation of a common currency; “The Conference took note of the progress made in the implementation of the ECOWAS Single Currency Program and took note of the report of the Chair of the Committee on the Status of Implementation of the Directives at its 53rd session held on July 31, 2018 in Lomé, as well as the relevant recommendations made that will provide the region with a stable monetary union “,

says the final statement of work chaired by Muhamadou Buhari.

“Concerning the name and sign of the future common currency, the summit instructed the president of the ECOWAS commission to set up a working group which must include representatives of the central banks and the knowledgeable in the following fields: sociology, anthropology, political science, monetary signs or law. This group will be responsible for proposing names and signs for the future single currency to the ministerial committee”,

underlines the final communiqué.

The francophone countries of West Africa still using the CFA franc will soon abandon the currency in favor of another currency that remains to be determined. For the moment a date has not been set for the entry into force of the new currency.