TUE, JUN 23 2020-theG&BJournal- President Muhammadu Buhari today spoke strongly against the eight Union Economique et Monetaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA) Zone member countries rush to replace the CFA Franc with ‘Eco’, and this is not the first time the President and the Anglophone nations in ECOWAS will be expressing their displeasure.
The French speaking West Africa UEMOA member countries reached an agreement on 21 December 2019 to adopt the Eco currency and break from the monetary arrangement they have had with France since 1973.
Although the date of the planned replacement is yet to be announced, President Buhari expressed concern that ‘’UEMOA Zone wishes to take up the Eco in replacement for its CFA Franc ahead of ECOWAS Member States.”
He spoke during the extra ordinary virtual summit of Authority of Heads of State and Government of Member States of the West African Monetary Zone hosted by the West African Monetary Institute Accra, Ghana.
‘’It is a matter of concern that a people with whom we wish to go into a union are taking major steps without trusting us for discussion.’’
President Buhari’s stand reflects the views of the English speaking ECOWAS member countries who want to see a broad based regional currency established at a more acceptable pace than is being currently pushed by the UEMOA member countries.
In early January 2020, the ECOWAS member countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Guinea signed a Communiqué condemning the UEMOA Zone decision to rename the CFA Franc without consultation.
Although, the UEMOA are still navigating the tricky process of transition from the CFA, President Buhari advised the region to proceed with caution, ‘’and comply with the agreed process of reaching our collective goal while treating each other with utmost respect. Without these, our ambitions for a strategic Monetary Union as an ECOWAS Bloc could very well be in serious jeopardy.’’
The President said, ‘’we must communicate same to the outside world effectively. We have all staked so much in this project to things to mere expediencies and convenience. We cannot ridicule ourselves by entering a union to disintegrate, potentially no sooner than we enter into it. We need to be clear and unequivocal about our position regarding this process.
Nigeria fully supports and committed to a monetary union with the right fundamentals-a union which guarantees credibility and overall regional prosperity and sovereignty. But we must do thongs properly and ensure absolute compliance with the set standards.’’
An enlarged meeting of the region was agreed on to trash out the thorny issues around the single currency following the President’s comments.
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