Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio, has been elected as the new Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of State and Government.

He takes over the rotating one-year leadership from Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The decision was reached during the 67th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority, held on Sunday in Abuja, Nigeria.

President Bio, a former Brigadier General who briefly led Sierra Leone as a military head of state in 1996, transitioned to democratic leadership and won the presidency in 2018.

He secured a second term in 2023 following a closely contested election.

His appointment as ECOWAS Chair comes at a critical time for the regional bloc, which is grappling with multiple challenges,

including political instability in several member states.

Bio assumes the role amid lingering post-election tensions in Sierra Leone, recent allegations of coup attempts, and the continued self-imposed exile of his predecessor, former President Ernest Bai Koroma, who remains in Nigeria.

ECOWAS is also navigating a period of regional turbulence, with four of its 15 member states currently under military rule.

The emergence of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)—comprising Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—and their official withdrawal from ECOWAS, has further strained unity and cooperation within the bloc.

President Bio's leadership is expected to be tested by the need to foster dialogue, restore constitutional order in member states under military rule, and reaffirm ECOWAS' relevance amid shifting regional alliances.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s former President John Dramani Mahama, who attended the summit, has since returned home.