Ken Ife: Nigeria Must Align Economy with ECOWAS Criteria to Lead Planned Single Currency Launch

Nume Ekeghe

Nigeria must urgently align its macroeconomic framework with the convergence requirements of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) if it is to play a leading role in the proposed launch of the regional single currency, the ECO, in 2027, economic policy expert, Prof. Ken Ife, has said.

Ife, a Development Consultant and Lead Consultant, Industry and Private Sector Development, ECOWAS, in a note he sent to THISDAY yesterday, recalled his advocacy for a phased approach to the ECOWAS single currency nearly two decades ago, adding that countries that met the bloc’s macroeconomic convergence requirements should have been allowed to commence the currency while other member states joined subsequently.

His comments came as ECOWAS intensified efforts towards the introduction of the ECO, with the regional body reaffirming in September 2026 that the 2027 launch target remains achievable.

The ECOWAS Convergence Council recently reviewed member states’ economic performance and convergence status and directed the Commission to accelerate preparations for the proposed currency. ECOWAS

According to Ife, he first proposed the phased approach in about 2007 when he travelled with the then ECOWAS President to the EU-Africa Summit in Portugal.

“On the matter of ECOWAS Currency. Around 2007, I travelled with ECOWAS President to EU-Africa Summit in Portugal and I advised him to start the currency with Member State that met the ECOWAS Macro-economic Convergence Criteria and others will join,” he said.

He argued that the approach would have allowed countries that were prepared to move ahead while giving others additional time to meet the requirements.

Ife noted that, almost two decades later, ECOWAS continues to work with a framework of four primary and six secondary macroeconomic convergence criteria designed to promote economic stability among member states.

The primary criteria include maintaining annual inflation at or below five per cent, keeping the overall budget deficit at or below three per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), limiting central bank financing of fiscal deficits and maintaining gross external reserves equivalent to at least three months of imports.

The secondary benchmarks include maintaining public debt at or below 70 per cent of GDP, positive real interest rates, exchange-rate stability, improved tax revenue mobilisation, adequate domestic funding of public investment and control of government wage bills.

The ECOWAS framework has historically comprised four primary and six secondary convergence criteria, aimed at achieving greater coordination of macroeconomic policies among member states.

Ife said Nigeria’s position in the regional economy made compliance with the convergence framework particularly important.

“The challenge we have is that Nigeria cannot successfully drive ECOWAS regional economy where we contribute 65 per cent of the economy but where our macro-economic framework does not align with these best practices, let alone move to comply with ECO currency,” he said.

He added that Nigeria had made progress on some of the primary convergence indicators but needed to bring inflation down to single digits to strengthen its position in the regional monetary integration process.

“We have done very well in three of the four primary criteria, and we should have single digits inflation in our line of sight, say by 2030, if not earlier, to be on the driving seat of the new currency,” he said.

ECOWAS itself has continued to stress the importance of macroeconomic convergence as preparations for the ECO advance. In September, its Convergence Council said the objective of launching the single currency in 2027 remained achievable after reviewing outstanding requirements and the convergence position of member states.

The regional body had also previously indicated that the ECO could be launched with countries that are ready to participate, rather than waiting for every member state to simultaneously satisfy all the requirements. In 2025, ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray said not all member states necessarily had to meet the convergence criteria before the launch, drawing a comparison with the phased development of the European single currency. ECOWAS

Ife, however, warned that Nigeria’s approach to regional monetary integration could have long-term implications for its influence within ECOWAS.

He said Nigeria needed to move quickly to ensure that it remained central to the design and implementation of the ECO rather than allowing other countries and external interests to shape the process.

“We should have single digits inflation in our line of sight, say by 2030, if not earlier, to be on the driving seat of the new currency,” he said.

He further warned against what he described as the danger of Nigeria “dragging its feet” on regional monetary integration.

“If Nigeria drags its feet, as it always does, we will end up like UK that secured exemption, to remain in EU and handed over control to France and Germany. In the end UK left EU,” Ife said.

His comments come at a time when ECOWAS is seeking to deepen economic and monetary integration across West Africa despite significant differences in the economic conditions of member states.

The ECOWAS 2024 Macroeconomic Convergence Report showed that member states continued to face difficulties meeting several of the convergence benchmarks, particularly fiscal deficit and public debt requirements. The report, for instance, recorded significant variations among countries in their compliance with the primary and secondary criteria.

The regional body has nevertheless maintained that the ECO project remains a key component of its economic integration agenda, with the 2027 target still being pursued.

For Nigeria, Ife argued that achieving greater macroeconomic stability, particularly lower inflation, would not only improve domestic economic conditions but also strengthen the country’s capacity to influence the architecture of the proposed regional currency.