President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has emerged as the new chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS).

The president was elected chairman at the 63rd Ordinary Session of the regional bloc held on Sunday afternoon in Bissau, capital of Guinea-Bissau.

After receiving his handover documents from the outgoing chairman and President Umaro Embaló of  Guinea-Bissau, Tinubu said, “We will take democracy seriously, Democracy is very tough but it is the form of government.”

The outgoing chairman and president of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Embalo, handed over his documents to Tinubu, who then said, “We will take democracy seriously. Democracy is very tough, but it is the form of government.”

President Tinubu declared, “On peace and security, the threat has reached an alarming level, and needs urgent actions in addressing the challenges. Indeed, without a peaceful environment, progress and development in the region will continue to remain elusive. In this regard, we must remain committed to the utilization of all regional frameworks at our disposal to address the menace of insecurity.”.

Earlier, a media aide to Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga had disclosed that President Tinubu would be elected chairman on Sunday.

He said: “Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will become the new ECOWAS chairman today, succeeding President Umaro Embalo of Guinea Bissau, who became chairman 4 July 2022, at the 61st summit in Accra.

“Tinubu’s leadership will be announced in Bissau today at the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).”