The meeting series driven by the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, have considered the various thematic issues relating to the evolution of the ECOWAS single currency and the overall regional integration agenda in the light of macroeconomics convergence and stability.
The meetings which were held variously between February 28 and March 5, 2024, in Abuja included the Technical Committee of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA) Technical Committee and the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) Technical Committee.
At the 51st meeting of the WAMZ Convergence Council, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, said the searchlight beams on Nigeria in terms of the enormous responsibility of leadership once again placed on her “at this critical stage of our regional monetary union agenda”.
Edun, who took over the leadership of WAMZ from Ghana, noted that the responsibility was quite challenging in view of Nigeria’s current precarious macroeconomic and social situation fueled by imbalances in a couple of variables.
The minister, represented by the permanent secretary of the ministry, Mr Udo Ekanem Okokon, however, assured that over the next six months during Nigeria’s chairmanship of WAMZ, “efforts will be dedicated to addressing our economies’ most urgent challenges to restore growth.”
The high points of the meeting series were the 48th Meeting of the Committee of Governors and 51st Ordinary Session of the WAMZ Convergence Council which were held at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja on March 7-8, 2024, respectively.
The WAMZ meeting is a biannual event which is hosted by the member states on the basis of the adopted principle of rotation to advance the cause of regional economic integration and development.
Participants at the meeting included officials of the WAMZ member countries including Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria. However, Guinea Conakry was not represented.
Meanwhile, Edun commended the critical roles of the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) in propelling the ECOWAS single currency trajectory towards reality in synergy with other multilateral surveillance institutions. He underscored the difficulties in the construction of a credible monetary union and called on stakeholders to remain focused and resilient and stay the course with optimism, while reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to the goal of a monetary union.
CBN governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, who also participated in the meetings, stressed the need for member countries to implement necessary reforms and proactive monetary and fiscal policies that could correct imbalances in our respective economies to make the aspiration of a credible monetary union achievable.
Several speakers at the meetings underpinned the introduction of a single currency to convergence and macroeconomic stability. Consequently, all member states and concerned entities were enjoined to bring on board proactive and creative measures that could make that possible.
