Nigerian president Bola Tinubu will remain chair of West African economic bloc for another year, has not stepped down
INSHORT: Several social media posts claim Nigerian president Bola Tinubu has stepped down as chair of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). But the claim is false.
A Facebook post dated 7 July 2024 claims Nigerian president Bola Tinubu has stepped down as chair of Ecowas .
The post reads: "BREAKING: President Tinubu has stepped aside as ECOWAS chairman."
Ecowas is a 15-member bloc that aims to improve economic relations across West Africa. Mali, Niger and Nigeria are in the bloc. Tinubu became its chairperson on 9 July 2023. He succeeded Umaro Embalo, president of Guinea-Bissau.
Similar posts about Tinubu's supposed resignation can be found here and here. (Note: See more instances of the claim at the end of the report.)
But has Tinubu stepped down from his position as Ecowas chair? We checked.
False rumours
The chair of Ecowas is appointed once a year.
Tinubu became chair of Ecowas on 9 July 2023 and was meant to leave office on 9 July 2024. But in a press release dated 9 July, Ecowas announced that Tinubu had been reelected for another year.
Africa Check searched the Ecowas website for news about Tinubu stepping down as Ecowas chair, but the search came up empty. This is a red flag.
There have, however, been trustworthy media reports that Tinubu was reelected. The claim that he has stepped down as chair of Ecowas is false.
