The appointment was announced on Wednesday by the President of ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, at the opening of the 95th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Council of Ministers meeting in Abuja.
Touray said the decision to pick Dangote was motivated by his vast experience of doing business in West Africa and other parts of the African continent.
The EBC is an independent platform launched by ECOWAS to bridge interaction between businesses and policymakers across the subregion.
Touray said through the Council, ECOWAS aims to bring private sector actors together to discuss economic integration, regional development, and facilitate dialogue and partnerships among private sector players, government agencies, and ECOWAS institutions.
“I am happy to note that already, the idea of promoting intra-regional investment is gaining traction in our Member States. This year alone, we have seen a number of Economic Investment Fora, such as the Forum Senegal Invest, West African Economic Summit in Nigeria and ‘Invest in District Savanes’ forum in Cote d’Ivoire.
“This appetite for intra-regional investment underscores the need to mobilise capital within our region to build our community rather than wait for precarious foreign investments. I am confident that with the kind of investments we have seen from the likes of Alhaji Dangote, our regional private sector actors can lead the way in the development of our Community if given the right incentives and opportunity”, he said.
Key issues slated for deliberation at the meeting include the annual work programme and budget of the community institutions, the financial situation of the community, the status of implementation of the community levy protocol, as well as reports from the Auditor General of ECOWAS Institutions and the Audit Committee.
