Vice President Singhatey stated this in Abuja on the 31^st of May 2016 at an interactive session with selected young media practitioners who were at the ECOWAS Commission for the Get to Know ECOWAS Programme. He urged the journalists on the need to be alive to trans-national issues of the co-existence of states, also charged them to be more forceful in the reportage of the integration agenda of the regional organization.

Intimating the journalists with some of the strides made by ECOWAS even as the organization is on the verge of rolling out more programmes geared towards effective integration, he cited the ECOWAS biometric card system, trans-national road and rail infrastructure, trade liberalization and greater cooperation and understanding among contiguous states as some of examples in this regard. 

Vice President Singhatey then fielded questions from journalists on a cross section of issues including the procedure of bringing up cases at the ECOWAS court of justice, institutional reforms, the conditions that warrants ECOWAS’ intervention in member states at periods of political turmoil, the various programmes aimed at poverty reduction in the region as well as the collaboration with the development partners.

The journalists were also put through a variety of trainings with a study tour of the Nigerian National Communications Commission (NCC) for an exposition on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a means of integrating people across West Africa, digitization, Internet access and penetration, development of ICT Policy as well as postal and telecommunications issues

Specifically, the NCC’s Departmental Directors supported the Head, Human Capital Mr. Mathew Maganda, to give presentations on the dynamics and challenges in regulating the telecoms industry, the role of corporate law and strategy, licensing procedure as well as the role of the NCC in the enhancement of the ICT landscape in Nigeria, among others.