Historic Absence: Nigerian President Tinubu Misses ECOWAS Summit in Abuja

Abuja, 14 December 2025 – In an unprecedented development in the 50-year history of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Bola Tinubu failed to attend the bloc’s 68th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, held in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, despite being in the country and hosting the event.

Vice President Kashim Shettima represented Nigeria at the summit, marking the first occasion a sitting president has delegated leadership of the host delegation while remaining on home soil, with no official explanation provided for the absence.

The gathering, chaired by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, drew heads of state from 10 member countries, including Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal, and Togo. Discussions centred on pressing regional challenges, including a recent attempted coup in Benin on 7 December, political instability in Guinea-Bissau, and broader threats to democratic governance across West Africa.

ECOWAS leaders condemned unconstitutional changes of government, pledging targeted sanctions against those obstructing transitions to civilian rule and reinforcing the bloc’s standby force for rapid intervention. The summit also addressed economic integration, reviewing the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme and the 2025 State of the Community report.

President Tinubu, who previously served as ECOWAS chairman from July 2023 to July 2025, was praised for Nigeria’s swift military support to Benin following the foiled putsch, which involved deploying fighter jets and troops alongside contributions from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Sierra Leone.

While the absence of the host president drew quiet speculation among diplomats and observers, attention remained focused on the bloc’s unified stance against rising insecurity and coups, amid the ongoing withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

The session concluded with a communiqué reaffirming ECOWAS’s commitment to democracy, regional solidarity, and prosperity for its over 400 million citizens.