Africa-Press – Gambia. A Nigerian civil society organisation has launched a blistering attack on the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, accusing him of abusing his office in a dispute that threatens to sour relations between Nigeria and The Gambia.
In a statement released in Abuja, the Make A Difference Initiative (MADI) said Dr. Touray overstepped his authority by withdrawing powers previously delegated to Nigeria’s ECOWAS Commissioner for Internal Services, Professor Nazifi Abdullahi Darma. The group says the decision, taken over alleged insubordination, ignored the disciplinary procedures clearly laid out in the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol.
“Articles 18 and 19 of the protocol are clear: only the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, not the Commission President, can discipline Commissioners,” MADI noted. Professor Darma has since approached the ECOWAS Court of Justice to contest the legality of Dr. Touray’s action.
MADI also raised alarm over moves to assign Commissioner-level duties to a Gambian national, a step that could give The Gambia two Commissioner positions and disrupt the principle of fair geopolitical representation within ECOWAS. The organisation warned this could deepen perceptions of bias and undermine Nigeria’s influence in the bloc, especially given that the country contributes nearly 90 percent of ECOWAS’s financial and logistical resources.
Beyond these immediate concerns, MADI highlighted what it called a “growing concentration of power” in the hands of Gambian nationals at the Commission’s top level. With both the Commission President and the Director of Cabinet from The Gambia, the group warned that this pattern, combined with recent withdrawals by Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, could weaken ECOWAS’s stability and credibility in the international arena.
The organisation directly called on the Gambian government to intervene, suggesting Dr. Touray may need to be restrained or even recalled to protect ECOWAS’s reputation and uphold regional trust. Among MADI’s demands are the immediate withdrawal of the memo against Professor Darma, the restoration of his delegated powers, a halt to interference in the judicial process, and a broader review of governance practices within the Commission.
According to reports by The Authority newspaper, the issue is expected to dominate discussions during the upcoming ECOWAS ministerial meetings in Abuja this December. As of publication, Dr. Touray had not publicly responded to the allegations.
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