The appointment was made during the 17th Annual General Meeting of the Board of Governors at Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Hotel hosted by Sierra Leone.

The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) is a financial institution established by fifteen member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

It emerged as a banking group after the transformation of the Fund for Cooperation, Compensation and Development of the Economic Community in 1999.

The role of the Bank is to ensure wealth creation and poverty reduction in the region. The Bank meets annually alphabetically, which automatically made Sierra Leone the host and chairman of the board.

Whiles speaking, Saffa said his appointment is seen as very beneficial for the country as it will ensure the commitment and projects in the pipeline for the country will be fast tracked especially when Sierra Leone is the chairman of the board.

He further emphasized that he will ensure resource mobilization for the bank whiles pledging the country’s commitment in paying its annual subscription.

He added that the Bank has a pivotal role to play not only in providing counter-cyclinical financing, but also in providing timely and targeted interventions in sectors critical for inclusive and sustained growth of EBID.

In his address, the Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh called on the Bank to help unleash the growth potential of the country, especially in renewable energy, the free education and the healthcare system.

The 17th Annual General Meeting of Board of Governors was supposed to have come with a consensus to appoint the new president of the Bank but that did not happen but was postponed to November this year.