ECOWAS Single Currency: States Meeting Convergence Criteria Unlikely- WAMZ DG
Efforts at realizing the ECOWAS Single Currency within the roadmap (2021-2027) are unlikely as none of the West African Monetary Zone(WAMZ) member States will meet all the four primary convergence criteria on a sustainable basis for the remaining three consecutive years (2024-2026).
Dr. Olorunsola Olowofeso, the Director- General of WAMZ disclosed this Friday in Abuja.
“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)”, he said.
He noted that the quest for a single currency by the West African Monetary Zones (WAMZ) would take much longer time to achieve as the convergence indicators have declined significantly.
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 percent, compared to 41.7 percent during the same period in 2022.
Speaking at the occasion, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun said that the commitment of Nigeria to achieve the objectives of WAMZ is unshakable.
