The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

SOCIAL STUDIES PROJECT WORK
Write Detailed Notes On The E.C.O.W.A.S As An Organization Under The Topics Below:
Brief History
Aims And Objectives
Institutions/Organs/Agencies
Achievements
Problems Faced

NAME: Economic Community of West African States
ACRONYM: ECOWAS
YEAR OF FOUNDATION: 1975
HEADQUARTERS: Abuja, Nigeria

DESCRIPTION
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional organization of 15 West African countries established on the 28th of May 1975. Its main goal is the promotion of the economic integration among its members. Indeed, ECOWAS is one the five regional pillars of the African Economic Community (AEC). ECOWAS has three official languages: English, French, and Portuguese.
MEMBER STATES
ECOWAS has currently 15 members, namely:
DATE
COUNTRY
STATUS
NOTES
28 May 1975
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo
Full members

1977
Cape Verde
Full member

28 May 1975
Guinea, Niger

Suspended members
Guinea after the 2008 coup d’état.
Niger after the 2009 coup d’état.

BRIEF HISTORY
The call for a West African community was made by President William Tubman of Liberia in 1964. An agreement was signed among Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in February 1965, but this came to nothing.
In April 1972, General Gowon of Nigeria and General Eyadema of Togo re-launched the idea, drew up proposals and toured 12 countries, soliciting their plan from July to August 1973. A meeting was then called at Lomé from 10-15 December 1973, which studied a draft treaty. This was further examined at a meeting of experts and jurists in Accra in January 1974 and by a ministerial meeting in Monrovia in January 1975. Finally, 15 West African countries signed the treaty for an Economic Community of West African States (Treaty of Lagos) on 28th May 1975. The protocols launching ECOWAS were signed in

References: http://www.ecowas.int/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Community_of_West_African_States http://www.comm.ecowas.int/sec/index.php?id=about_a&lang=en http://www.google.com.gh/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCgQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.comm.ecowas.int%2Fsec%2Findex.php%3Fid%3Dtreaty&ei=nj4yUpvTMoTWtQaeoICwCw&usg=AFQjCNHH9BiMNYy8ySvwMhKraXeSHPRFLQ&bvm=bv.52164340,d.Yms http://globaledge.msu.edu/trade-blocs/ecowas/history http://www.comm.ecowas.int/sec/index.php?id=treaty http://www.modernghana.com/news/391065/1/from-the-archives-thirty-years-of-ecowas-an-apprai.html http://www.internationaldemocracywatch.org/index.php/economic-community-of-west-african-states-