The Director-General of the West African Monetary Zone, WAMZ, Dr Olorunsola Olowofeso, has said the expectation for the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, to establish a single currency by 2027 is no longer realistic.
Oluwafeso, who said this in an interview with NAN on Monday in Abuja, said the WAMZ member-states have been unable to meet all the required criteria.
He spoke against the backdrop of the recently held 48th meeting of the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks of the member-states of the WAMZ, which was held in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
According to him, it is unlikely that any member-states will satisfy all four primary convergence criteria sustainably between 2024 and 2026.
“The quest for a single currency by WAMZ will take much longer to achieve as the convergence indicators have declined significantly.
“The assessment of member states’ performance reveals that, as of the end of June 2023, all member states still need to meet all the four primary convergence criteria.
“The zone’s performance score declined to 29.2 per cent, compared to 41.7 percent during the same period in 2022,” he said.
It’ll take much longer – WAMZ DG on establishment of ECOWAS single currency in 2027
