ECOWAS urges Ghana, Nigeria to initiate ECO currency
The ECOWAS Parliament has challenged the governments of Ghana and Nigeria to take the lead in the introduction of the ECO currency.
The sub-regional Parliament made the recommendation at its recent meeting in Abuja during which a variety of issues were discussed.
Earlier the Council of Ministers and Governors of Central Banks of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) recommended that the start of the single currency, Eco and monetary union scheduled for December this year, should be shifted to January 2015.
The ECOWAS Commission subsequently endorsed the recommendation on grounds that the earlier date was not feasible, since member states had failed to achieve adequate and necessary degree of macro economic convergence and structural and institutional benchmarks under the Banjul Action Plan.
Speaking to Citi News, Hon John Tia, Deputy Majority Leader and the Leader of the Ghanaian delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament, said the call on Nigeria and Ghana to take the lead in introducing the ECO was based on a number of factors.
“We want the sub region to integrate; we want our peoples to be able to interact with one other freely, we want goods and services to flow in between our sates”, he enumerated.
Hon Tia told Citi News that though the ECOWAS Parliament is strongly pushing Ghana and Nigeria to show leadership in the introduction of the common currency, the House cannot compel the two nations to comply with its recommendations.