Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja

Sequel to the withdrawal of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), its radio station has been transferred to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The radio station is now cited in Monrovia, the Liberia capital.

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Mrs. Amina Mohammed, the United Nations Under-Secretary General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Coordinator for United Nations Operations in Liberia, Farid Zari, as well as the Liberian Minister for Information, Eugene Lenn Nagbe, have expressed satisfaction over the development.

The ECOWAS Commission, in a statement made available to Daily Sun, in Abuja, said Liberian President George Weah, welcomed the transfer of the UNMIL radio to ECOWAS.

“As the United Nations withdraws from Liberia, its radio is transferred to ECOWAS. I am convinced that this powerful medium of communication will enable the regional organisation have greater impact on its citizens, particularly at the grassroots,” President Weah said.

The Liberian president expressed gratitude to the United Nations Mission for its critical role in the consolidation of democracy, economic development, peace and security in Liberia, through this radio.

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He urged ECOWAS to build on the achievements and to make the radio a viable instrument to effectively promote peace, security, and integration in the region.

ECOWAS Commission President, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, who was represented by the Commissioner for Education, Science and Culture, Leopoldo Amado, said the new regional radio would serve as a platform to promote regional integration as enshrined in the ECOWAS Treaty and its related texts and protocols.

“The radio station will promote regional integration; contribute to the education of the West African people; create awareness of ECOWAS programmes and its Vision 2020; help to strengthen economic integration, peace, security, and democracy in West Africa; and promote development programmes of the United Nations and international partners across the sub-region,” Amado said.

He called for greater support from the international community to sustain the radio, noting that the pomp and pageantry of the handing over ceremony should not detract from the major challenges to be addressed through the collective effort of all stakeholders.

“There is the need for huge technical investment, first to enable the radio remain on air, then to extend its broadcast to the other member states in the three official languages of ECOWAS, and finally to incorporate national languages that will foster the socio-cultural integration of our community,” Amado added.

Also, the Resident Representative of the ECOWAS Commission President in Liberia, Ambassador Tunde Ajisomo, thanked UNMIL staff, the United Nations’ Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, former Liberian President, Mrs Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and former ECOWAS Commission President, Marcel de Souza, and all who contributed to the successful transfer of the UN Radio to the regional organisation.

“This transfer encapsulates the desire of ECOWAS founding fathers to strengthen the bond of unity and promote peaceful co-existence among member states of the community,” Ajisomo said.