ECOWAS’s new chief wants channels open with the Sahel. Ghana now holds the energy brief

Senegal’s Birame Diop took over the ECOWAS Commission on 31 August 2026 and put renewed contact with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger at the centre of his opening message. Ghana’s Amin Amidu Sulemani joins the new team as commissioner for infrastructure, energy and digitalisation.