New ECOWAS chair Julius Maada Bio inherits a bloc grappling with jihadist violence, military coups and a shrinking circle of allies.

West African leaders gathered in Nigeria’s capital on Sunday for a summit dominated by warnings of deepening insecurity and political instability, as Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio took over the rotating leadership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

“Our region is at the crossroads,” Bio told fellow heads of state in Abuja, in a sombre speech marking his assumption of the ECOWAS chair from Nigerian President Bola Tinubu. He cited a litany of growing threats, from terrorism and organised crime to the erosion of constitutional rule. “The democratic space is under strain in parts of our region – the constitutional order has been disrupted.”

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