Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has called for deeper collaboration among member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), warning that the region risks undermining its economic ambitions if trust and cooperation are not strengthened.
Speaking on Tuesday at the ECOWAS First Extraordinary Session and the 2026 Parliamentary Seminar in Abuja, Akpoti-Uduaghan urged regional lawmakers and stakeholders to prioritize intra-community partnerships to expand trade and economic integration. The seminar, themed “Deepening Regional Integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): Opportunities and Challenges for Expanding Intra-Community Trade within the ECOWAS Region,” focused on leveraging AfCFTA opportunities.
The senator stressed that meaningful integration must go beyond policy declarations, emphasizing shared research, industrial collaboration, market linkages, and product development. She expressed concern over West African countries’ tendency to prioritize partnerships outside the region while neglecting internal initiatives.
“In my own perspective, I believe that West Africans lack cohesive collaboration amongst ourselves. How much research and innovation have we shared amongst ourselves?” she queried.
Akpoti-Uduaghan cited Ghana’s recent collaboration with Germany on vaccine development and questioned why similar partnerships are not pursued within ECOWAS. “It is okay if we partner with America, the United Kingdom, or France, but primarily, we should not neglect ourselves,” she said.
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The senator also advocated for open research systems, inter-university collaborations, and cross-border innovation platforms to ensure accessibility of research outputs across ECOWAS states. She called on parliamentarians to strengthen institutional communication among ministries to promote transparency and trust within the region.
Highlighting emerging economic opportunities, Akpoti-Uduaghan referenced the World Bank’s focus on the blue economy, urging West African countries to jointly develop maritime and water-based industries to boost trade volumes.
Her intervention comes amid renewed efforts to increase intra-African trade, which remains relatively low despite the launch of AfCFTA.