After an extraordinary general meeting of ECOWAS heads of state and governments in the West African Monetary Zone, Nigeria and 5 other Anglophone nations (Nigeria, Ghana, The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cameroon) rejected the rebranding of CFA Franc to ECO.
In July, Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS agreed that ‘Eco’, the proposed single currency for the zone, would be launched in January 2020. They also agreed that a flexible currency regime would be adopted.
With the rejection by the Anglophone nations, the single currency may be threatened by Anglophone-Francophone politics.
In December 2019, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo, with the backing of France, announced that they were changing their common currency, the CFA Franc, to ECO, through their union, West African Economic and Monetary Union.
“The meeting notes with concern, the declaration by the chairman of the authority of the heads of state and government of the West African Economic and Monetary Union on December 21, 2019, to unilaterally rename the CFA Franc as Eco by 2020,” the broadcast media platform quoted a communique issued by the group.
“WAMZ convergence council wishes to emphasise that this action (is) not in line with the decision of the authority of heads of state and government of ECOWAS for the adoption of the Eco as the name of an independent ECOWAS single currency”.
“WAMZ convergence council reiterates the importance for all ECOWAS member countries to adhere to the decisions of the ECOWAS authority of heads of state and government towards the implementation of the revised roadmap of the ECOWAS single currency programme,” it added.
According to a source familiar with the matter who spoke to Political Economist magazine, there would be another meeting in Free Town, Sierra Leone where an agenda and implementation plan would be made for Anglophone West African countries.
