The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) hopes and aspirations of using a single currency as legal tender in member nations has again suffered a major decline.
This was made known by the Director-General, West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), Dr Olorunsola Olofeso in Abuja over the weekend during the 51st meeting of Convergence Council of the West African Monetary Zones (WAMZ).
He said: “The assessment of Member States’ performance reveals that as at the end of June 2023, all WAMZ Member States failed to meet all the four primary convergence criteria. The zone’s performance score declined to 29.2 per cent, compared to 41.7 per cent during the same period in 2022.”
“The medium-term projections on macroeconomic convergence, as indicated by the multi-year national macroeconomic convergence and stability programmes of the Member States, suggest that none of the WAMZ Member States will meet all the four primary convergence criteria on a sustainable basis for the remaining three consecutive years (2024-2026) of the convergence phase of the ECOWAS Single Currency Roadmap (2021-2027).”