Lists criteria
“While I urge all of us to work hard towards meeting the set target date, we must not forget that the most sacrosanct objective in this endeavour is not a hasty launch of our monetary union, but an enduring and sustainable one that can stand the test of time when it is put in place.
“In a nutshell, we should only feel compelled to launch when we are comfortable that the economic fundamentals for a successful monetary union are in place.”
Okonjo-Iweala insisted that all member states must be ready before the launch in order to avoid a situation where some would pull out midway.
She said: “I think the issues of a monetary union is a serious affair. The EU has been at it for some time. In spite of that, look at the challenges they are facing, where some members were not ready. They went into the union and it was not a very solid platform.
“Consequently, when the financial crisis came, they were not able to withstand it. There is nobody chasing us. We have a target date but let us have a quality launch that will be sustained.
“Members will begin to exit when they cannot cope up with the criteria and that does not help. I want all the countries to focus on those criteria, especially the macro-economic ones.”
Nigeria in danger if…
She added that Nigeria, being the largest economy in the sub-region, would be the worst-hit should the union go awry.
The Minister said: “Nigeria is the largest economy. We are likely to bear the brunt. So, we do not want any union or launch of a monetary union that is not built on a solid ground.
“But I must commend the countries; they are trying very hard. So let us take our time. If the time comes and we are not quite ready, we should not be shy to say we are not ready. Rather than rushing into it because the consequences of a failed monetary union are severe.
“So we should do it in such a way that we can always reflect. Let them take stock now and see how far we have gone. Let us have a quality launch.”
On local production
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala also said the community needed to pay particular attention to local production of goods to avoid a situation where it would be turned into a dumping ground for manufactured goods from other regions of the world.
According to her, this can hurt member-countries’ economies.
In his remarks, the President of ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Kadre Ouedrogo, said Security Ministers of member states would meet to critically look into the security implications of an ECOWAS where citizens would move freely without resident permits.
He said the objective of the union was to create a sub-region where there would be genuine integration of people, not just integration of countries.