The proposed single currency the “Eco”, for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has been moved to 2027, following the adoption of a new road map.
This was announced by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou on Saturday after member states agreed with the new road map at the 59th ordinary session in Accra, Ghana.
“Due to the shock of the pandemic, the heads of state had decided to suspend the implementation of the convergence pact in 2020-2021, Brou said.
“We have a new road map and a new convergence pact that will cover the period between 2022-2026, and 2027 being the launch of the Eco.”
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The regional body had at its 55th ordinary session in July 2019, reached an agreement to unveil the Eco in January 2020.
The Eco is largely backed by Francophone countries namely; Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau (Portuguese-speaking), Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo, which would see them switch from the CFA Franc.
On the other hand, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia, and The Gambia, which are English-speaking countries, as well as Guinea, a francophone country, rejected the adoption of Eco.
Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has called for an extension of the take-off.
“Nigeria’s position on the Eco currency is that the convergence criteria have not been met by majority of the countries,” the federal government had said.
“There has to be an extension of time on the take-off of the single currency.”
Nigeria, the largest economy in West Africa, operates a managed float currency, while other states have their currencies pegged to the euro.
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