ECOWAS countries and their capitals are something you should know. You could be asked anywhere even at an interview for a job, visa or anything. These are basic current affairs knowledge that should be at your fingertips. So just in case you don’t know or you’ve forgotten, here is a reminder.
What is ECOWAS?
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is an economic group or community of African countries located in West Africa. There are eighteen (18) countries geographically located in West Africa but only fifteen (15) out of these countries are members of ECOWAS.
The community was founded on the 28th of May, 1975 when some of the countries in West Africa came together in Lagos to sign the Treaty of Lagos. The union was formed to promote the economic integration across West Africa. The union also perform a peacekeeping role in West Africa. It has carried out several peacekeeping interventions during periods of political instability and unrest in member states in recent years.
Currently, the union is made up of fifteen member states. Five out of these fifteen countries are English speaking, eight are French-speaking and the remaining two are Portuguese speaking countries. The organization structure is headed by the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government who is appointed by the other Heads of States. The chairman runs the affairs of the union for a period of one year. The current Chairman is Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma who is the current President of Togo. Below are ECOWAS countries, their capitals, and official languages.
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List of ECOWAS countries
1. Benin
- Capital – Porto Novo
- Official Language – French
2. Burkina Faso
- Capital – Ouagadougou
- Official Language – French
3. Cape Verde
- Capital – Praia
- Official Language – Portuguese
4. Cote D'Ivoire
- Capital – Abidjan (Commercial), Yamoussoukro (Political)
- Official Language – French
5. Gambia
- Official Capital – Banjul
- Language – English
6. Ghana
- Capital – Accra
- Official Language – English
7. Guinea
- Capital – Conakry
- Official Language – French
8. Guinea Bissau
- Capital – Bissau
- Official Language – Portuguese
9. Liberia
- Capital – Monrovia
- Official Language – English
10. Mali
- Capital – Bamako
- Official Language – French
11. Niger
- Capital – Niamey
- Official Language – French
12. Nigeria
- Capital – Abuja
- Official Language – English
13. Sierra Leone
- Capital – Freetown
- Official Language – English
14. Senegal
- Capital – Dakar
- Official Language – French
15. Togo
- Capital – Lome
- Official Language – French
Morocco put in an official request in February 2017 to join ECOWAS which was endorsed at the Heads of States' summit in June 2017. So, the number of member states might change soon. But according to the ECOWAS website, the official number of member states is fifteen as listed above.
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Source: Naija.ng
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