Church Leaders confer with Foreign Minister and ECOWAS Commissioner for Trade

© Afreepress (Lomé,le 26 mars 2014 ) —

Ahead of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of States and Governments Summit scheduled to be held in Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire, from March 28-30, Nigerian Church Leaders met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Nurudeen, and the ECOWAS Commissioner for Trade, Commissioner Ahmed Hamid to demand for full transparency and accountability of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations. “We, the people of faith oppose the hasty push for conclusion of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between ECOWAS Commission and the EU Commission during the forthcoming ECOWAS Heads of States and Governments summit”, said the Most Reverend Emmanuel Josiah Udofia, President of the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in West Africa (FECCIWA) and Primate of the African Church Worldwide. He headed a twelve member delegation comprising of senior church leaders from Nigeria and the FECCIWA Secretariat to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ECOWAS Commission. “Hurried EPA conclusion will send wrong signals to ECOWAS Member States on the importance of people’s participation in economic and social development. The ECOWAS Commissioner must publish the text of the agreement on its website to avoid further discrediting of ECOWAS at national levels”! FECCIWA Secretary–General, The Rev. Dr. Tolbert Thomas Jallah, Jr. also part of the delegation made it clear that the decision to withhold the agreed text away from the general public was contrary to the underpinning principles of the ECOWAS. He further asserted: “The EPA will create unstable economic systems and eventually reinforce impoverishment and dependency syndromes persisting since centuries. To see whether the EPA is in the interest of the people, we call for publication of the agreement and holding of national consultations in line with recommendations made by the ECOWAS Ministerial Monitoring Committee on 17th February 2014”. The Foreign Minister, Dr Mohammed Nurudeen welcomed Church leaders statement and said: “The concerns expressed by the churches are our concerns. I can assure you that Nigeria will not enter into an Economic Partnership Agreement without national consultations and that the present agreement in its format is unacceptable by the Nigerian Government”. He also alluded to the fear that the agreement in its present state will negatively impact on peace and security, job creation and protection of nascent industries. He promised that Nigeria, as economic powerhouse in West Africa, will pave the way forward for balanced outcome on the Economic Partnership Agreements.

The ECOWAS Commissioner for Trade, Mr. Ahmend Hamid agreed that the ECOWAS commission will not be able to conclude an agreement against the will of national governments. He regretted that.

Consultations with governments, trade unions, civil society and especially the public were not held in order to convince all stakeholders. He acknowledged and lamented “the ECOWAS Commission has not well communicated with the people.” However, he argued in favor of the present deal, which would provide sufficient protective measures for existing ECOWAS industries. He said, “Revenue losses caused by liberalization will be outweighed by economic gains, stimulated by decreasing consumer costs and foreign investments”. ECOWAS Commission and the European Union Commission have being negotiating EPAs since 2003. After a lengthy deadlock in negotiations, caused by disagreement on financial commitments for strengthening industries in West Africa and the degree of market opening for European products, negotiations were resumed in January 2014 in Dakar, Senegal. The European Union Commission pressurized and intimidated developing countries - Ghana and Ivory Coast -to ratify interim agreements, which were signed under the threat to retreat preferential tariff free market access in 2007, or to implement a regional EPA until October 2014.

Archives pictures (Rev Jallah meeting with Nicolas Martinez-Berlanga)