Sierra Leone’s Maada Bio takes over as ECOWAS Chair
By: Rebecca Okine
Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio has been elected Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), succeeding Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The announcement was made on Sunday, June 22, 2025, during the 67th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS held in Abuja, Nigeria.
President Bio assumes leadership at a pivotal time for the bloc, which is grappling with internal divisions and rising insecurity. Three member states — Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger — remain under military rule and have formally withdrawn from ECOWAS to form the Alliance of Sahel States.
His one-year tenure is expected to focus heavily on regional diplomacy, with close attention on whether he can re-engage the breakaway nations and help restore unity within the bloc.
Maada Bio, a former military ruler who briefly led Sierra Leone in 1996, returned to power through democratic means in 2018 and was re-elected in 2023.
Outgoing Chair Bola Tinubu’s term has received mixed reviews. While he championed anti-coup rhetoric and promoted regional integration, his push for military intervention in Niger collapsed, and efforts to unify the bloc fell short. A last-minute economic dialogue with the three breakaway states on Saturday failed, as the junta-led countries declined to participate.
Meanwhile, ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray updated member states on ongoing negotiations regarding the formal withdrawal of the Sahel trio—a development that could reshape the bloc’s political and economic future.
Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama was also present at the summit and has since returned to Accra.
