Nigeria, despite its huge financial support to the Economic Community of West African States, is losing influence in the regional body.
The country provides 60 per cent of ECOWAS levies and 85 per cent of the regional body’s funds.
Diplomats have argued that Nigeria’s precarious position was the handiwork of the President of Sierra-Leone, Dr. Ernest Koroma, with the active connivance of a Nigerian diplomat (name withheld), who allegedly misled President Goodluck Jonathan.
A confidential report on the extra-ordinary summit of ECOWAS held in Abuja on October 18, 2011, has exposed how Koroma used the Nigerian diplomat to mislead Jonathan into ceding the country’s hitherto strong position in the regional body to another country.
The report, which was exclusively obtained by our correspondents in Abuja on Thursday, gave an insight into the less than noble role played by the Nigerian diplomat, who serves as the Under Secretary (Africa) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The 13-page report, which originated from the ECOWAS division of the ministry, noted that the reason for the extra-ordinary summit was basically to resolve the crisis over the allocation of positions in the commission.
Under a sub-head: "Implication of the summit outcome- Shrinking influence," the report noted, "The issue of the allocation of the statutory positions remains one of the most sensitive and vigorously debated in ECOWAS as every member state views it as a measure of its influence, relevance and latitude to achieve a defined national objective within the ambit and integration goals of the sub-regional organisation.
"Given Nigeria’s significant financial commitment, profile and leadership in the ECOWAS sub-region, the allocation of the position of Commissioner, Political Affairs, Peace and Security to it is at variance with the informed position of the ministry and consequently the National County position, and will not serve our best interest in ECOWAS."
As a background to the report, the department noted that as a result of the inability of the authority to agree on the allocation of statutory positions at the December 2010 summit, a five-man Ad Hoc Presidential Committee on statutory allocations in ECOWAS institutions comprising Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, was set up under the leadership of Dr. Ernest Koroma, in March 2011 during the 39th ordinary session of the authority.
The ECOWAS Commission was secretariat to the committee and Nigeria was not a member.
The report of the committee, which was presented to the summit by President Koroma, with the active collaboration of the Nigerian diplomat, did not go down well with the highest donor countries namely: Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Nigeria eventually lost the position of Commissioner, Administration and Finance and settled for the less influential position of Commissioner, Political Affairs, Peace and Security.
The report noted that preparatory to the summit, the government had in its wisdom, decided to seek the retention of the position of Commissioner for Administration and Finance.
Based on this decision, the President earlier met his colleagues individually to canvass support for Nigeria’s position to which they had no objections.
This, according to the report, is consistent with international best practices.
Advising the Federal Government to reconvene a summit to address the anomaly, the ministry argued in favour of Nigeria reverting to its original position.
The report read, "The platform of the reconvened summit should be used to secure the position of the Commissioner for Administration and Finance permanently for Nigeria in consonance with international best practices as obtained in the UN, IMF, the World Bank, the Commonwealth etc… and in consonance with the informed position recommended by the service-wide Inter-Ministerial Committee set up by (former) President Olusegun Obasanjo to review the embargo withholding 0.2 per cent of Nigeria’s contribution to the ECOWAS Community Levy Account.
"It is instructive to note that Cote d’Ivoire, the largest contributor to UEMOA, is the permanent President of BCEAO. Also, the USA does not compromise key administrative position of its choice in the UN system as well as the headship of the World Bank.
"The UK is always the Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.
"Going by international best practices, it is therefore expedient for Nigeria to be effectively involved in the management of the huge resources it is committing to ECOWAS.
"It is noteworthy to mention that in 2010, Nigeria contributed $40.8m. Ghana the second largest contributor paid $14m while Cote d’ Ivoire the third largest contributor paid $6m.
"Nigeria currently contributes 60 per cent of the ECOWAS community levy fund and is ordinarily responsible for approximately 85 per cent of funds available to the Organisation."
The report recommended immediate, mid-term and long term measures to address the imbalance.
Giving reasons for its advice to the government to reconvene another summit, the ministry posited that:
"Most of the member states allocated statutory positions were not fulfilling their community levy obligations, a major criterion for allocation of statutory positions in ECOWAS institutions.
"The summit focused only on commissioners and forgot other vacant statutory positions such as the community judges and the Director-General of WAHO, among others.
"Nigeria needs to ensure that no loose ends are left hanging during its chairmanship before handing over to the next chairperson. Definite decisions, therefore, need to be taken on all vacant positions.
"Nigeria was not properly represented at the summit as the minister that was to sit in for the country was locked out of the closed door session. In effect, Nigeria had no representation at the requisite technical level as Mr. President participated in the extraordinary summit in his capacity as the chairman of the authority. It should therefore be impressed on both the State Security Service and the commission for Nigeria to have a country seat in future summit meetings."
The confidential report also noted that the plot to box President Jonathan into a corner was hatched in Sierra Leone and perfected in Abuja during a session behind closed door.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru and the Minister of State, Dr. Nurudeen Muhammed were locked out of the meeting.
It also noted that notes sent into the summit chamber by the Minister of Foreign Affairs were jeopardised by the presence of the Nigerian diplomat, who was propagating the aligned position.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ode Ogbole, asked one of our correspondents to put all questions in writing.
He said, "My new brief now is that all questions should be in writing so that we can send to the relevant departments for appropriate response."
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