By Mark Longyen
Abuja, Feb. 23, 2026(NAN)ECOWAS Parliament Speaker, Mémounatou Ibrahima, has called on member states to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which has entered its operational phase, to deepen regional integration.
She made the appeal on Monday in Abuja, while declaring open the ECOWAS Parliament‘s 2026 First Extraordinary Session and Seminar, which marks the beginning of the regional legislature’s work for the year.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the seminar is themed: “Deepening Regional Integration through the AfCFTA: Opportunities and Challenges for Expanding Intra-Community Trade.”
Ibrahima urged all stakeholders, including member states, regional parliamentarians, the private sector, civil society, women, youth, and technical partners to seize the opportunities presented by AfCFT to deepen regional economic growth.
“The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has now entered its operational phase. It aims to create one of the largest markets in the world by population.
“In this context, the AfCFTA represents a historic opportunity to make our region an integrated, prosperous, and resilient economic power.
“However, it will only succeed if embraced by all — governments, private sector, civil society, women, youth, and technical partners,” she said.
The speaker noted that regional parliamentarians must play the decisive role of harmonising legal frameworks, remove non-tariff barriers and obstacles to free movement, oversee the use of Community resources.
According her, the lawmakers must also ensure that integration remains inclusive, equitable, and socially progressive.
“Our responsibility is clear — to make this instrument a lever for structural transformation in West Africa.
“With nearly fifty years of integration experience, ECOWAS cannot merely accompany this process. It must lead, coordinate, and harmonise it.
“This is a historic imperative, especially as our region hosts the Secretariat of this Agreement,” she said.
She, however, noted that, in order to succeed, member states must devise a strategy that is grounded in a clear assessment of both ECOWAS’ strengths and challenges.
The speaker said that ECOWAS should leverage its advantage of being Africa’s most dynamic regional economic community, with the highest continental average growth rate of 5 per cent.
She said that West Africa should also take advantage of its harmonised macroeconomic framework, a Common External Tariff, and experience in trade liberalisation.
Ibrahima urged the bloc to seize the opportunities of its youthful entrepreneurial population and innovative tools such as the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) and the ECOWAS Brown Card scheme.
She listed the bloc’s weaknesses to include a low (10 per cent) intra-regional trade, underdeveloped industrial base, and the continuous export of mainly raw materials with little local processing.
“In global value chains, we largely occupy low value-added segments, and despite shared challenges, our economies often compete in similar export products rather than complement one another.
“Some Member States have yet to ratify the AfCFTA Agreement or define national strategies, slowing coordinated implementation and reducing our global influence,” she added.
In a message of goodwill, Nigeria’s Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said that deeper integration was critical for West Africa to compete in an increasingly competitive global economy.
Akpabio, represented by his deputy, Sen. Jibrin Barau, described AfCFTA as a historic restoration of Africa’s traditional interconnected trade systems, adding that pre-colonial West Africa thrived through commerce and cooperation across borders.
He warned that fragmentation and isolation could marginalise the region, urging member states to unite economically and politically to secure markets, defend democracy, and safeguard prosperity.
The Senate President called for practical implementation of AfCFTA commitments, including harmonised standards, efficient ports, transparent customs systems, and digital trade infrastructure to reduce costs and empower entrepreneurs.
He further stressed that insecurity and political instability remained major obstacles to integration, adding that economic cooperation and political stability are mutually reinforcing pillars that must be strengthened simultaneously.(NAN)(nannews.ng)
Edited by Isaac Aregbesola
