ECOWAS COMMISSION COMMENDS COUNCIL OF THE WISE IN VALEDICTORY SESSION

The ECOWAS Commission has commended its Council of the Wise for untiring, selfless services rendered to the regional community in pursuit of peace, security greater stability. The commendation was given by the ECOWAS Commission’s Commissioner, Political Affairs, Peace and Security Amb Abdel-Fatau Musah in a valedictory session at the end of the third Retreat of the ECOWAS Council of the Wise on the 18 March 2026, in Accra, Ghana.

The current ECOWAS Council of the Wise was constituted in May 2021. Commissioner Musah stated in his closing remarks that members of the Council may have come to the end of their service but not the end of service to the regional community. He stressed that the Commission looks forward to their continuous support and to sharing in their rich experiences while drawing strength from the wisdom gained over the years.

“Your grasp of diplomacy has guided us through quite a number of storms. You have also alerted the commission of potential crisis which makes us take pre-emptive action in order to prevent escalation.  You have given us a lot of materials that will guide the further development of the concept of the Council. The President of the Commission and all of us deeply appreciate this and If the history of conflict management and peace processes in our region are going to be documented, your names will be written in gold”. The Commissioner added.

Speaking on behalf of Council Members, H.E. Hadja Alari Awahanatu Cole who represented the Council’ Chair, former President of Nigeria, H.E. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan thanked the ECOWAS Commission and particularly the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS) for the opportunity to serve the Community. She urged all stakeholders of the peace process to take the submissions made at the retreat further in the conviction that the reflections and lessons learnt in the course of the Council’s engagements will help the cause of peace in West Africa, going forward.

Before rounding up their work, the retreat participants had examined perspectives on governance, peace and security trends in the ECOWAS region, the adoption of a roadmap for the re-constitution of the Council of the Wise, among others. It also featured the presentation of commendation certificates and plaques to Council members.

The two-Day Retreat was supported by the CMI–Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation, the European Union and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

The ECOWAS Council of the Wise is a top-layer peacebuilding mechanism of PAPS engaged by the Mediation and Coordination of Regional Political Affairs Division for preventive diplomacy in aid of the larger peace and security architecture of the regional community.