President Bola Tinubu on Thursday held a meeting with the outgoing President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Touray, who is nearing the end of his four-year tenure as head of the regional bloc’s executive arm, arrived at the State House alongside the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye.
Details of the closed-door engagement were not disclosed, but the meeting comes just weeks before the Gambian diplomat is expected to formally hand over leadership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission.
Touray assumed office on July 3, 2022, after he was unanimously nominated by the Government of The Gambia and endorsed by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government to lead the Commission for the 2022–2026 term.
He took over from former Commission President, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou of Côte d’Ivoire, who served from 2018.
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Before joining the ECOWAS Commission, Touray built an extensive diplomatic career, serving as The Gambia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
He also held the position of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs under former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh before leaving office in 2009.
Following his exit from government, Touray worked with the Islamic Development Bank before returning to regional diplomacy, culminating in his appointment as President of the ECOWAS Commission.