Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Experts from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have adopted a training policy for the region’s standby force.

The policy details the kind and nature of trainings the standby force will undergo to be able to fight against growing terrorism in the region.

The region has been under non-state actors’ in the Lake Chad and Sahel regions.

The ECOWAS Standby Force was activated to address the rising insecurity in the sub-region.

Though the regional body has activated its depot for deployment of soldiers for peace support operations, the Standby Force has not yet swung into action.

The regional force, which is expected to comprise 5,000 troops, is part of a broader regional security strategy to curb terrorism and cross-border crimes.

Speaking at the closing of the two-day government experts’ validation meeting on the ECOWAS standby force training policy for peace support operations, Dr. Sani Adamu, Acting Director of Peacekeeping and Regional Security, said the region now has a training policy for its Standby Force.

Adamu said, “The ECOWAS Commission, as you know, is systematically putting in place processes and procedures to be able to accompany our member states and to also have peace and security in our region to continue to thrive.

“It’s within this context that the ECOWAS Standby Force training Policy for Peace Support Operations was elaborated, and the document now before the governmental experts were reviewed, the document was fully reviewed, evaluated, and eventually adopted by all of you.

“What that symbolises is that from today’s henceforth, we have a standing document, a standard document for training of officers that are going for peace support operations.

“As you are all aware, the ECOWAS Commission is at the threshold of actually activating the ECOWAS Standby Force in its kinetic form to be able to fight, you know, against terrorism.

“It’s a scourge that is affecting our member states today, and the last meeting of the authority of Heads of State directed the Commission to actually deploy the ECOWAS Standby Force in its kinetic form to be able to fight this fight.”

Adamu also disclosed that a meeting of ministers of Finance will soon be converging in Abuja to discuss the ways and means of mobilising resources for the Standby Force.

He said, “I want to also disclose to you that the Commission is putting in place processes so as to have the Ministers of Finance as well as Ministers of Peace and Security of the region to converge in Abuja to be able to discuss the modalities, the ways and means of mobilising the technical and financial resources that will allow for the activation of this Standby Force to actually be in place.

“So in the coming weeks, everything will take place, and the internal resources that will be directed that we should mobilise will actually be in place so that we’ll be able to have the Standby Force fully activated and fully, you know, resourced.”

He also added, “It’s also important to say that other processes are in place to see that a robust Standby Force that is capable and also able to confront the menace in the region is the vision of the authority. It’s within that context that this meeting is also taking place to be able to allow for an effective and efficient operational readiness of the Standby Force. All the contributing countries have made pledges.”

He stressed, “Already the pledges that we needed, you know, for the activation of the Standby Force in its genitive form were already done. For instance, we have initial numbers, 1,650 were already pledged by our member states, and progressively, you know, the figure will increase to 5,000. So in all of this, ECOWAS is strong and, you know, standing ready to continue to accompany our member states in this direction.”

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