The Presidential Task Force on the ECOWAS Single Currency Programme has reaffirmed political will to meet the 2020 deadline. The taskforce made the commitment in a communique issued at the end of its fifth meeting held in Accra, the Ghanaian capital.

The meeting was chaired by President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana. Members of the Presidential Task Force who attended the meeting were Issoufou Mahamadou, President of Niger; Alassane Ouattara, President of Cote d’Ivoire; and Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, representing President Muhammadu Buhari.

The meeting was also attended by Faure Gnassingbe, Togolese President and Central Bank Governor of Guinea, Mr. Lounceny Nabe, representing the country’s President, Professor Alpha Conde. The communique said the Presidential Task Force also reaffirmed member states’ commitment to ratify and implement all relevant ECOWAS protocols and conventions.

The taskforce reiterated that member states which met the convergence criteria could start the monetary union while the other countries could join later. It encouraged member states to continue the effort towards meeting the convergence criteria and strengthening the multilateral surveillance mechanism.

It also adopted the revised roadmap for accelerating of the creation of the ECOWAS single currency by 2020 and instructed all the stakeholders to implement the revised roadmap. The taskforce reaffirmed its commitment to fund the ECOWAS Single Currency Programme by member states and their central banks.

It also asked the Committee of Governors and Convergence Council to hold quarterly meetings on the progress of implementation of planned activities and to regularly report at their bi-annual sessions. Members of the Presidential Task Force agreed to hold their next meeting in Niamey, Republic of Niger, in May 2018