Addis Ababa — The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Mr. Carlos Lopes has joined Africans and the world at large in paying tribute to BBC Presenter, Komla Dumor who died in London on Saturday.

In a Statement over the weekend, Mr. Lopes said, "I am very pained. Komla was exceptional and a good friend of the ECA."

Mr. Dumor had confirmed his role as a key facilitator at the Seventh Joint AU Conference of Ministers of Economy and Finance and ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to be held on 27 March to 1 April 2014 in Abuja, Nigeria on the theme, Industrialization for Sustainable and Inclusive Development in Africa.

"Komla Dumor possessed boundless joy, energy and a big enthusiasm over Africa's narrative; he left us so soon," said Lopes and added: "He was a world class act who raised high Africa's flag on the international stage and worked hard to shift the one-sided narrative on Africa."

Arguably Africa's favorite BBC presenter, Mr. Dumor was a regular facilitator at ECA major events where his personality, brilliance and depth of understanding fired up debates on Africa's transformation.

Our prayers and thoughts are with the family, friends and colleagues that he left behind," said the Executive Secretary.