China hands over $56.5 million ECOWAS headquarters in Abuja, flagship aid deal delivered in just two years with ‘no strings attached.
China has officially handed over a $56.5 million headquarters complex to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja, completing one of its most significant institutional projects in West Africa within two years. At the event, China’s ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, said the facility was a flagship aid project to improve the institutional capacity of the ECOWAS and to support regional development, repeating Beijing’s policy of “non-interference” and cooperation without political conditions. Accepting the building on behalf of member states, ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray praised the rapid construction and joint efforts of Chinese and regional engineers in completing the project to standard. There are signs of strengthening China-West Africa relations. Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu also pointed to the complex, which is expected to be inaugurated later this year by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio along with Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other leaders. The move comes as Chinese investment across Africa is growing, seen as part of a wider push for greater influence, and ECOWAS is expecting the new headquarters will help in achieving better cohesion among its 15 member states as it tackles persistent regional problems.
