ECOWAS countries will begin using a single currency in 2020

The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) has announced that select member states will begin using a single currency for regional trade in 2020.

15 West African countries make up ECOWAS.

The countries that make up ECOWAS are Benin, Togo, Gambia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Liberia, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Guinea, Cote D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Cape Verde.

Members consider the adoption of a single currency key to facilitate trade and economic integration in the region.

Breaking down monetary barriers

Speaking at the event, Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Moustapha Cisse Lo, said: "The single currency will make it possible to lift the commercial and monetary barriers, lower the cost of transaction and spark up economic activities in the region.”

President Muhammadu Buhari hosts ECOWAS summit on December 16, 2015 (Presidency) ece-auto-gen

According to Sahara Reporters, Cisse Lo also called on all stakeholders to implement the revised road map on the single currency.

The ECOWAS Parliament also requested the authority of Heads of State and government to take a firm stand regarding compliance with the 2020 deadline for the establishment of the ECOWAS single currency.

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari was elected new ECOWAS Chairman on July 31, 2018.