By Mark Longyen
The Senegalese government has nominated Birame Diop, a retired air force general and the country’s current Minister of the Armed Forces as its candidate for the position of ECOWAS President.
Diop’s nomination is contained in a statement issued by Senegal’s Ministry of African Integration, Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday.
It explained that Senegal’s President, Bassirou Faye, named Diop for the presidency of the Commission ahead of the Summit of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, scheduled for July, for approval.
“Should he be confirmed at the July 2026 Summit, he would bring to the office a rare blend of operational credibility, diplomatic temperament and institutional vision—an asset to the Community and its member states.
“This candidature reflects Senegal’s desire to place at the disposal of our sub-regional community a figure of great merit, recognised for his leadership, his integrity, his command experience, and his profound knowledge of issues of peace, security, governance and regional integration.
“Gen. Birame Diop possesses a remarkable record of service to Senegal, to Africa, and to the international community. He has previously held, inter alia, the posts of Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Chief of the President of the Republic’s Military Staff, and Chief of Staff of the Air Force,” it said.
According to the statement, Senegal expresses its confidence in Diop’s capacity to serve the ideals and objectives of ECOWAS with competence, impartiality and dedication, for the benefit of all the peoples of the region.
It said that Senegal was convinced that Diop’s experience, strategic vision, aptitude for dialogue and pan-African commitment constitute major assets for enhancing the effectiveness of ECOWAS.
The government added that, in a regional context, for a bloc marked by unprecedented security, political, economic and institutional challenges, Diop’s expertise would support ECOWAS’ peace, stability, prosperity and integration ambitions.
“His international expertise was confirmed by his appointment as Military Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations at the Department of Peace Operations, where he contributed to the formulation and implementation of policies on conflict prevention, peacekeeping and the consolidation of international security.
“For several years, he supported the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies (ACSS) across the Continent as a Facilitator and Lecturer, training senior African civilian and military officials on issues of Peace, Development, Security and Defence.
“Gen. Diop has conducted research on the critical issue of Security Sector Reform in sub-Saharan Africa at the National Endowment for Democracy and at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington, DC.,” it further said.
Diop also contributed to security sector reform processes initiated in several African countries, by supervising teams responsible for drafting National Defence and Security Policies (NDSP) under the UN and EU’s auspices.
He is said to have also established the African Institute for the Security Sector, a leading institution dedicated to strengthening the strategic capacities of the continent, which subsequently became Partners Senegal.
“Through these two institutions, he participated in numerous initiatives promoting participatory and inclusive security governance in Africa,” the Senegalese government said.
Diop, 65, a graduate of the Royal Air School in Marrakesh, Morocco, Air University, U.S., the École de Guerre in Paris, is currently pursuing academic work in diplomacy and international relations.
NAN also reports that ECOWAS had at its 95th Council of Ministers’ meeting held in Abuja from December 10 to 12, 2025, approved the allocation of ECOWAS President to Senegal.
The ministers’ recommendation, which was later endorsed by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, also saw the Vice President’s position given to Nigeria, while Liberia will succeed Senegal in 2030.
Other positions allocated include that of Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Sierra Leone; Internal Services, Ivory Coast; Economic Affairs and Agriculture; Liberia; Human Development and Social Affairs, Bénin.
Also, at the ECOWAS Court of Justice, the current judges, whose tenures will end this year, their statutory positions were allocated by the Council to Bénin, Gambia, Liberia, Nigeria and Togo.(NAN)(nannews.ng)
