Get Guardian on GoogleNigerian envoy visits ECOWAS logistics depot in Sierra Leone
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has convened regional meetings in Accra, Ghana, to advance discussions on remuneration for private copying and the return of cultural property to countries of origin.
The meetings, held from November 3 to 5, brought together stakeholders to review a study on private copying remuneration and consider measures for implementing the regional action plan on the repatriation of cultural property.
The two sessions were organised by the ECOWAS Directorate of Education, Science and Culture and held concurrently after a joint opening ceremony.
After the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts of Ghana, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, declared the meetings open and the Director of Education, Science and Culture at the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Roland Kouakou, delivered a welcome address, the meeting on private copying remuneration reviewed a study intended to define a regional strategy for compensating creators and rights holders when their works are copied for private use.
The exercise is expected to guide a coordinated approach among member states to protecting the interests of creative professionals and supporting the region’s cultural and creative industries.
The regional committee on cultural property, meanwhile, considered measures and processes required to implement the 2027–2031 Action Plan for the return of cultural property to its countries of origin.
The discussions bring together two issues with implications for the development of West Africa’s creative economy and the preservation of its cultural heritage: how creators receive compensation for the use of their works, and how cultural objects taken from their countries of origin can be recovered.
While ECOWAS did not identify specific cultural objects scheduled for return, countries involved in particular restitution claims or the proposed mechanism for collecting and distributing private copying remuneration, the Commission said the meetings formed part of efforts to strengthen regional cooperation in safeguarding cultural heritage and protecting the rights of creators.
In another development, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Sierra Leone, Ambassador Ayo-Luther Ogunmade, visited the ECOWAS Logistics Depot in Lungi, Sierra Leone, as the regional institution works towards its full operationalisation.
Ogunmade, accompanied by members of her delegation, visited the facility on October 30 following her assumption of duty as Nigeria’s diplomatic representative in the country.
The delegation was received by the Commander of the ECOWAS Logistics Depot, Navy Captain I. J. Akpa, who briefed the envoy on the facility’s mandate, strategic importance and progress towards full operationalisation.
The visit came about three months after the depot was commissioned in July 2026, marking a new phase in efforts to establish the facility as part of the regional bloc’s logistics infrastructure.
The depot is expected to serve as an important regional facility, although the statement did not provide details of its current operational capacity, the specific logistics services available or the timeline for achieving full operational status.
It also did not disclose whether discussions during the visit produced any concrete arrangements between Nigeria’s diplomatic mission and the depot.
The engagement highlights the potential role of diplomatic missions in strengthening cooperation with ECOWAS institutions hosted in member states, particularly as the regional bloc develops facilities intended to support its operations.
