Tinubu meets with departing ECOWAS commission head

President Bola Tinubu welcomed Dr Omar Touray, the outgoing President of the ECOWAS Commission, to the State House in Abuja on Thursday, in a meeting that took place behind closed doors.

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The visit was documented through photographs released by the State House media office, which showed Touray arriving at the Presidential Villa accompanied by Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

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While the specifics of the meeting remain undisclosed, it is notable that it occurred just weeks prior to Touray's formal transfer of leadership of the regional bloc's executive arm.

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Dr Omar Touray, a seasoned diplomat, took office as President of the ECOWAS Commission on July 3, 2022, after being unanimously nominated by The Gambia's Government and endorsed by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government for a term spanning 2022–2026.

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Touray succeeded Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, an Ivorian diplomat who had led the Commission since 2018, in assuming the role of President of the ECOWAS Commission.

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Prior to his ECOWAS appointment, Touray held positions including The Gambia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs under former President Yahya Jammeh.

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Touray's tenure as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs ended with his dismissal in September 2009, after which he went on to work with the Islamic Development Bank before eventually returning to diplomatic service.