Ecowas /Council of Ministers approves seven new Commissioners : The Benin takes the portfolio of Education, Sciences and Culture with Prof. Jean-Pierre Ezin

Seven new Commissioners were on Thursday, 23^rd January 2013 appointed into an expanded ECOWAS Commission by the Council of Ministers, bringing the membership of the Commission’s management to 15, in line with the decision of regional Heads of State and Government.

 

The seven Commissioners were among 21 candidates interviewed by a six-member ad hoc ministerial Committee for the statutory positions.

 

The new comers, who are expected to assume duties in February 2014, will reinforce the existing nine-member Commission comprising the President, Vice President and seven Commissioner’s created in 2007 with the transformation of the defunct Executive Secretariat of the organisation into a Commission.

 

The one-day extraordinary Council session in Abidjan also approved the appointment of the Community’s Financial Controller from among three candidates interviewed for the position as well as the Director Generals and Deputies for two Community institutions from among 12 contenders.

 

These are for the Ouagadougou-based West African Health Organisation (WAHO) and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), based in Dakar.

 

The Council, comprising ministers responsible for ECOWAS affairs in Member States, also approved the recommendations of the Management Succession Committed on the outcome of the interviews conducted November/December 2013 to fill 52 “critical positions” at the Commission and nine others at the affiliate Project Preparation and Development Unit (PPDU) based in Lome.

 

Opening the Council meeting, the current chair and Cote d’Ivoire’s Minister of African Integration and Ivorians in the Diaspora, Mr. Ally Coulibaly, had urged his colleagues to demonstrate the usual community spirit in their deliberations.

 

In his remarks, the President of the Commission, His Excellency Kadré Desire Ouédraogo explained that the new additions will reinforce the human resource capacity which “is absolutely necessary for the success of the activities of the institutions of the Community.”

 

He reaffirmed the determination of management to ensure the success of the ongoing restructuring exercise aimed at improving the capacity of the Commission and other Community institutions to enable them deliver on their mandates and satisfy the expectations of the citizens and regional leaders.

 

Below is the list of the 12 successful candidates for the statutory positions with their portfolios:

1.   Mr Jean-Pierre Ezin, Commissioner, Education, Science and Culture Benin

2.    Dr. Isaias Barreto Olimpio da Rosa, Commissioner Telecommunication and Information Technology, Cabo Verde

3.    Mr. Kalilou Traore Commissioner, Industry and Private Sector Promotion, Côte d’Ivoire

4.    Mr. Stephen Nartey, Commissioner, General Administration and Conference, Ghana

5.    Mr. Bangoura Morlaye, Commissioner Energy and Mines, Guinea

6.    Mr. Silva Moitero Joao José, Commissioner Human Resources, Guinea Bissau

7.    Dr. Fatimata Dia Sow, Commissioner Social Affairs and Gender, Senegal

8.    Dr. Muhammad Sani Bello, Financial Controller, Nigeria

9.    Dr.  Crespin Xavier, Director General WAHO, Niger

10. Dr. Laurent Aholofou Assogba, Deputy Director General WAHO, Benin

11. Mr. Adams Coulibaly, Director General GIABA, Côte d’Ivoire

12. Mr. Brian Sapati, Deputy Director General, GIABA, Ghana