The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is grappling with a deepening administrative and staffing crisis as a result of the withdrawal of three member states — Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso — alongside persistent recruitment bottlenecks within the organisation.
At an extraordinary session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers held in Abuja on Thursday, leaders of the regional bloc deliberated on how to address mounting institutional and political challenges threatening its operational capacity.
The ECOWAS Commission President, Ambassador Omar Touray, described the meeting as “a session borne out of necessity,” noting that delays in recruitment and the departure of staff from the three countries had disrupted the organisation’s human resource structure.
Touray highlighted key issues, including an aging workforce, cumbersome manual application processes, and the limited capacity of recruitment firms engaged by ECOWAS. He said the Commission had been compelled to hire additional firms to speed up the recruitment process and ensure fairness in filling vacant positions.
He further appealed to member states to provide direction on the redistribution of positions vacated by personnel from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.
“We need the council’s guidance to ensure equitable allocation of these positions without compromising competence,” he stated.
Chair of the Council of Ministers and Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister, Timothy Kabba, cautioned that the staffing problem extended beyond administration, warning that it could undermine ECOWAS’s institutional credibility and regional integration efforts.
“Our concern must go beyond equitable distribution — fairness and inclusivity must also guide the process,” he said.
Kabba also drew attention to the worsening security and humanitarian situation in the region, stressing that the surge in extremist attacks and displacement of civilians demanded urgent, coordinated action from member states.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to ECOWAS and emphasised the importance of addressing the current staffing gap to preserve the bloc’s effectiveness.
“This extraordinary session is critical to ensuring that ECOWAS remains functional and representative following the withdrawal of some member states,” she said.
Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, all governed by military juntas, formally exited ECOWAS in January 2025, accusing the organisation of abandoning its founding principles and failing to support their fight against terrorism. Their exit has since left significant administrative and political voids within the regional body.
The ECOWAS Council of Ministers is expected to propose new measures to stabilise the institution’s human resource framework and restore efficiency across its operations in the coming weeks.
