Nigeria, Ghana Initiate ECOWAS Military Integration

Nigeria and Ghana have embarked on a drive for the military integration of countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a visiting Ghanaian high-ranking military officer said on Monday in the capital Abuja.

Ghanaian Chief of Naval Staff John Gbenah told reporters that the drive was derived from the fact that Nigeria and Ghana have always spearheaded peacekeeping initiatives in the sub-region, citing the peacekeeping operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

According to Gbenah, the two countries are only serving as the mainstays of the proposed military integration initiative in the ECOWAS region, where the countries are often involved in joint training exercises on routine bases.


The Ghanaian naval chief said his visit is to strengthen military relations between the two countries, adding that the present leadership in the two countries are determined to push forward for stronger military ties.

Nigeria and Ghana have called for stronger military bonds in the ECOWAS, modeling the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to stem the sub-regional instability.