Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has described the proposed eco currency as a vital tool for the deeper unification of the ECOWAS region, calling on member states to prioritise the economic and technical conditions necessary for its successful implementation.

Speaking during an interview on ARISE NEWS on Wednesday on the 50th anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Tuggar said that there were, however, certain benchmarks ECOWAS member states have to meet before the creation of a regional currency is possible.

“The creation of an eco-currency is most genuine. It will further unite us, unite Anglophone, Francophone countries in the region, and we continue to work at that. We have to first and foremost reach convergence, and that’s why in the opening I talked about legal and regulatory convergence, which is very important.

“There are so many things that are happening in terms of this convergence to do with livestock, to do with water systems, the West Africa power pool that ECOWAS has achieved, and milestones. Unless you attain that, having a common currency would not be possible, and all the countries have to reach a certain benchmark before you have a common currency.”

Tuggar also acknowledged longstanding tensions surrounding the role of France in the monetary affairs of Francophone West Africa. However, he pointed to recent reforms, such as the transfer of foreign reserves from Paris to Dakar, as a step towards greater regional autonomy.

The minister praised ECOWAS for sustaining unity among Anglophone, Francophone, and Lusophone countries over the past five decades, contrasting it with earlier failed groupings like UDAO. He highlighted ongoing projects such as the Abidjan-Lagos and Abidjan-Dakar trade corridors, the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme, and SIGMAT, a digital customs platform.

Tuggar reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to ECOWAS despite the recent withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, describing their departure as regrettable but not irreversible. He noted that ECOWAS made overtures to the three countries to remain within the community, especially in light of their shared history and regional challenges.

“We are not closing the door on the three countries. As we keep repeating, they are more than welcome. Of course, ECOWAS kept making overtures trying to get them to remain. Unfortunately, they’ve made their minds up,” he said.

The minister also raised concerns about the growing presence of foreign military actors in West Africa, especially the Increasing influence of Russia and its private military affiliates such as the Africa Corps. He said Nigeria remains watchful of encirclement risks posed by geopolitical shifts in neighbouring countries and emphasised the importance of maintaining regional security architecture that is African-led.

“With the Russian involvement and the ambitions of creating an Africa core, it’s something of great concern to all the countries because it will further destabilise the region. It will further destabilise Africa, because you can see that the ambitions with this Africa core and the involvement of Russia and private military companies, if you will, in the Central African Republic, and now with this involvement in Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, you can see that it would create an arc more or less around Nigeria. So the only missing link now in the puzzle is Chad, so we’re quite concerned about that, which is why we continue to engage the Russians. Other countries are also very much concerned about that. But the fact remains that we have to collaborate, we have to work together with all of these countries to bring about peace, to fight terrorism in the region.”

He added that Nigeria, with its long-standing leadership in ECOMOG peacekeeping missions, must continue to play a central role in securing West African sovereignty and stability.

In addressing global issues, Tuggar confirmed that ECOWAS has taken a clear stance on the Gaza-Israel conflict, stating its unequivocal support for a two-state solution and denouncing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“We stand with the Gazans. The position is clear. We condemn the continuing siege that is going on in Gaza against the people of Palestine. ECOWAS has been unequivocally clear that it is for the two-state solution, and it continues to condemn the actions of the State of Israel.” (AriseNews TV)