President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday received the outgoing President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, Dr Omar Touray, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Touray arrived at the State House accompanied by Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, according to photographs released by the Presidency’s media office.
Details of the closed-door discussions were not immediately disclosed, but the meeting took place ahead of the Gambian diplomat’s scheduled handover as head of the regional bloc’s executive arm.
Touray assumed office as President of the ECOWAS Commission on 3 July 2022 after being nominated by the Gambian government and unanimously endorsed by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government for the 2022–2026 tenure.
He succeeded Ivorian diplomat Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, who served as Commission President from 2018.
A career diplomat, Touray previously served as The Gambia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations before being appointed Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs under former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. He was removed from that position in September 2009.
Following his government service, Touray worked with the Islamic Development Bank before returning to diplomatic duties, culminating in his appointment as head of the ECOWAS Commission.
