The Ad Hoc Committee of Experts on the Construction of the New Headquarters of the ECOWAS Community Institutions meets in Abuja, Nigeria, from 11th to 12th April 2023, to adopt the approved construction plan as well as discuss the progress of the on-site works. The meeting is held at the headquarters of the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja, Nigeria, with participants from the Republic of Benin, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Republic of Senegal, the Republic of Sierra Leone, and the Republic of Togo.

The Chairperson of the Ad Hoc Experts Committee, H.E Ambassador Yakubu A. Dadu, welcomed participants from Member States to the meeting noting that the last meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee was in May 2019 as several economic and health challenges particularly COVID prevented the group from meeting. Ambassador Dadu praised the committee for their role in the ground-breaking ceremony of the New Headquarters held in December 2022 by the ECOWAS Commission and the Heads of State of the region. He thanked the Republic of China for their financial and technical support and the Federal Republic of Nigeria for their approvals and waivers to the project’s Chinese contractor. He reassured the ECOWAS Community that all hands are on deck to ensure the speedy delivery of the project in line with the proposed timeline.

In his remarks, the Director of Administration and General Services, ECOWAS Commission, Mr Seydou Kassory Mohamed Bangoura, said the meeting marks an important step in actualizing the dream of providing the Community with a modern and conducive work environment that will improve the productivity of staff and reduce the expenditure associated with the use of various office buildings in Abuja, Nigeria. Mr Bangura noted that the outbreak of the COVID pandemic brought a temporary halt to the involvement of the committee in the building construction project but the expertise and supervisory functions of the committee are needed now since the construction of the building foundation is just starting. He stated that the approved building design and work schedule will be presented to the committee after the visitation to the construction site as inputs into their construction progress report.

The agenda of the Ministerial Level Meeting on 12 April 2023, will be based on the final report of the Experts Level Meeting.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).