ECOWAS appoints Akufo-Addo to lead Nigeria observer mission

Nana Akufo-Addo at the UK–Africa Investment Summit in London on 20 January 2020. File photograph. Graham Carlow/DFID, cropped photograph / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Former Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will lead 200 observers from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to monitor Nigeria’s presidential and National Assembly elections on 16 January 2027.

His office confirmed the appointment in a statement dated 12 November 2026, outlining a delegation that will bring together diplomats, election administrators and representatives of regional institutions and civil society.

The team will include officials from foreign affairs ministries and electoral commissions, alongside ECOWAS ambassadors accredited to Nigeria. Members of the bloc’s Council of the Wise, Court of Justice and Parliament will also participate.

Civil society organisations, journalists and election specialists from across West Africa will contribute to the mission, which ECOWAS will constitute under its 2001 Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.

The January elections will determine Nigeria’s next president and the membership of the Senate and House of Representatives. The Independent National Electoral Commission’s timetable separately schedules governorship and state assembly elections for 6 February 2027.

Akufo-Addo takes on the assignment after heading the ECOWAS observation mission for Benin’s presidential election on 12 April 2026. During that deployment, he held discussions in Cotonou with observers and institutions responsible for organising the vote.

ECOWAS had announced his appointment to the Benin mission in March, assigning him responsibility for directing the delegation’s work and its engagements with political authorities, electoral bodies, security agencies and civil society.

The former president governed Ghana from January 2017 to January 2025. He completed two constitutional terms before handing over to John Dramani Mahama.

For the Nigerian assignment, the regional protocol provides the framework governing the observers’ composition, conduct and reporting responsibilities.

Article 14 of the protocol requires mission members to be independent nationals of ECOWAS countries other than the state holding the election. It also requires women’s participation.

The protocol directs observers to consult the host authorities on their deployment and permits cooperation with other observation groups while maintaining the mission’s independence. Members must exercise restraint, with public statements issued collectively through the mission leader or an appointed spokesperson.

Under its reporting provisions, the mission must remain through the election period until the announcement of results. Its report must document observations and witness accounts, assess the election against national laws and electoral principles, and recommend improvements for future polls and observation missions.