The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has announced an extraordinary joint session of its finance and defense ministers to urgently resolve the financial deadlock stalling the deployment of the ECOWAS Standby Force (SSF). The regional anti-terrorism unit, first announced in December 2024, has yet to become operational due to severe budgetary shortfalls. The resolution was passed during the 67th Ordinary Summit held in Abuja on June 22, 2025. Outgoing ECOWAS Chair and Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu stressed the pressing need to transition the force from policy to practice as extremist violence surges across West Africa. He urged member states to fulfill their financial pledges without relying solely on external partners.
Tinubu officially handed over the bloc’s leadership to Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, who now takes charge at a time when jihadist attacks are intensifying in Benin, Nigeria, and along the Gulf of Guinea corridor. The summit also celebrated the completion of the Lungi Regional Military Logistics Depot in Sierra Leone—an infrastructure milestone that will serve as a key support hub for ECOWAS forces. Nigeria reaffirmed its commitment to provide strategic air and maritime logistics support.
Under ECOWAS’s revised Counterterrorism Action Plan, the SSF will begin with 1,650 troops, eventually scaling up to a 5,000-strong force. Legal and operational frameworks were laid during a high-level technical meeting in February 2025. Leaders emphasized the importance of regional self-reliance in tackling terrorism, especially in light of shifting international priorities and the reduced footprint of foreign forces in the Sahel. The funding meeting is expected to finalize cost-sharing mechanisms and timelines to fast-track the SSF’s long-delayed deployment.
