Misleading! President Bio has not been removed as ECOWAS Chairperson

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Usman Fambuleh

Claim: A viral Facebook post shared by Mohamed Kamarainba Mansaray claims that  President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, has been removed as ECOWAS Chairperson.

Verdict: Misleading. President Julius Maada Bio was not removed as Chairperson of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Rather, his one-year rotating tenure came to an end, after which the chairmanship was transferred to Senegal’s President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, during the 69th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority held in Freetown. 

Full Text

A viral Facebook post shared by Mohamed Kamarainba Mansaray claims: ‘BREAKING: Julius Maada Bio removed as ECOWAS Chairperson (archived here).

The post drew public attention, and because of its potential to mislead, DUBAWA decided to fact-check it.

Verification

DUBAWA reviewed a credible report on the outcome of the 69th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, held in Freetown. The report shows that Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye was elected as the new Chairman of ECOWAS, succeeding President Bio after the completion of his tenure. 

Further checks show that President Bio assumed the rotating ECOWAS chairpersonship in June 2025, succeeding Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The position is rotational and is transferred to another Head of State by consensus or election at the Authority’s summit. 

At no point did ECOWAS announce that President Bio had been dismissed, impeached, or forcibly removed from office as Chairperson. Instead, the leadership changed through the bloc’s normal transition process after his mandate expired. 

Conclusion

The Facebook claim that President Julius Maada Bio was removed as ECOWAS Chairperson is misleading. Available evidence shows that he completed his tenure as the regional body’s chair and peacefully handed over the rotating leadership to Senegal’s President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, in accordance with ECOWAS practice.