Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been appointed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to lead its Election Observation Mission to Nigeria ahead of the country’s January 16, 2027, General Elections.
The appointment will see the former Ghanaian leader head a 200-member team expected to observe the electoral process in the West African country.
The announcement was contained in a statement issued by the Office of the Former President on Thursday, November 12, 2026, confirming his selection to lead the regional deployment.
“The 5th President of the 4th Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has been appointed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to lead a deployment of Election Observers to the 16th January 2027, General Elections in Nigeria,” the statement said.
The observer mission will bring together representatives from various institutions and professional backgrounds across the West African sub-region, in line with ECOWAS’ regional framework on democracy and good governance.
The deployment will be guided by the bloc’s Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, adopted in 2001.
“In line with the West African regional union’s Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance (2001), ECOWAS will put together a two hundred (200) member Observer Mission,” the statement said.
The team will include experts from Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Electoral Commissions and ECOWAS Ambassadors accredited in Abuja.
Members of the ECOWAS Council of the Wise, the ECOWAS Court of Justice and the ECOWAS Parliament will also form part of the delegation.
Other participants will be drawn from electoral commissions of ECOWAS member states, Civil Society Organisations, media practitioners and electoral experts from across the region.
Akufo-Addo served as Ghana’s fifth President of the Fourth Republic from 2017 to 2025.
