Hon. Ahmed Munir, Member, a member Nigeria House of Representatives, Thursday deferred on the notion that trade amongst members of the Economic Community of West African States is very low.
Munir who is the member representing Jere Federal Constituency in Kaduna, Nigeria, said a huge volume of trade is going on among citizens of member states but not properly captured.
This, he said, is because it is majorly at the informal sector.
He therefore urged that the informal sector be dragged into the net of the Gross Domestic Products of Member states.
Munir, who is the Deputy Chair of the ECOWAS Committee on Infrastructure was responding to questions from journalists at the sideline of the ongoing Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament Delocalised meeting of Joint Committee on Infrastructure, Energy and Mines in Lome, Togo said.
He said that the informal sector has a lot to gain in the general community ecosystem.
He said: “Having said that, you said something that captured my imagination. Saying that it’s not encouraging the amount of trade that’s going on in West Africa. You’ll be shocked that the amount of trade that is going on in West Africa is quite robust.
“But it falls in the category of the informal sector. And it’s not properly captured. And these are one of the few assignments that we have to do in tangent to what we are doing here. How do you bring the informal sector into the formal sector? Number one, for the possibility to have a wider net, of course, of the economy to be captured in our GDP. But even more important than that is, no matter what they’re doing in the formal sector, it is more beneficial for them to be part of the formal sectors because they have certain access to funding and protection that is key.”
He was hopeful that the regional body will be able to fashion out something workable and beneficial for all the sectors of the economy.
On the need to reduce the cost of airfare within the region, which is the main reason for the Lome meeting, Munir said addressing interconnectivity among member states is critical to the regional integration policy.
He stressed that there cannot be proper integration without ease in movement of goods and people.
He explained: “At the moment, I always like to look at the glass half full. No doubt, we have a lot of work to do.
“But it’s not insurmountable. At the moment, as you’re aware, from Lagos all the way to Dakar, they’ve started the roads that will connect that. Especially from the Nigerian side, at least I can speak for that has been captured in our budget.
“So there just needs to be more work as a community to ensure not only does the road get from Lagos to Dakar, but also with transshipment to Cape Verde. We have to look at our rivers. There’s actually a lot of interconnectivity among the rivers within the ECOWAS sub-region, especially the landlocked, how we can get certain goods across to them, whether we need to dredge those rivers, and what happens”.
He also said Public, Private Partnership should also be considered in the Infrastructure efforts..
“So yes, there’s a lot of work to do. And it shouldn’t fall on the government alone. Some of these things have to be looked at in the eyes of PPP. Where along the highways within these great countries in West Africa, certain private entities take responsibility for construction and maintenance of certain stretches of the road, and they’re able to recoup their investment in a fair manner through toll gates. And apart from toll gates, there can also be tax incentives. Whatever work certain construction or factories within the region are willing to do, certain infrastructure projects, you can also develop some tax credit bricks.
“So there’s so many innovative ways that we’re here to lend our voice and see how we can move forward.
The legislator was also positive despite the challenges confronting ECOWAS, says with about a population of about 400 million, there is hope for the region.
Munir said like the mobile telephone revolution, “We want to achieve the same within the aviation airline industry as well, for passengers, for West Africans to be able to connect among each other, to trade among each other, to have tourism among each other, to have education across various universities among each other.
“So there’s a lot of work to be done. And like I said, it is meetings and gatherings like this. And you can ask, is there hope? The fact that we’re here, the fact that we’re working on a bill to achieve that, and subsequently, by the end of this conference by Saturday, we’ll have a document in place after sitting with all stakeholders.
“And then, of course, it will go to the relevant bodies that will hopefully ensure it is implemented. And then most importantly, us parliamentarians will go back to our countries and domesticate what we have reached over here. And yes, plenty of hope for tomorrow.”
The legislator stressed that at 50, ECOWAS has achieved a lot of milestones which signifies hope for the sub-region’s integration policy.
He stressed: “But I’m trying to base my answers on facts. For you to know that there is hope. And the hope is based on the work that is on ground. And we’re achieving great things together. You need to see the infrastructure that ECOWAS is doing. You need to see what they’re doing in the power sector, in the transport sector.
“There’s actually a lot of wins if we focus on them. Now, having said that, yes, we’re mostly advisory when we come here. But this interaction that we have with our colleagues, once we have a common front, for now, as whatever reforms that need to be taking place are being taken care of, patiently, adequately, responsibly.
“The truth of the matter is once we meet here, once we come up with tangible ideas, policies, or laws that will be beneficial for the entire ECOWAS team, ECOWAS, we come together, go back to our various countries, and try to navigate it through. And then we meet ourselves at a future point. Work like this is grinding. We have various nations. They are all sovereign. They all have various interests. So putting all these interests together is not an easy task. Now, all of us want to reach the same destination, but we just have different ideas of how to reach there. So the idea for us is to form a common front and move forward as one.
“And I believe we can do so because I am seeing it practically here. And I’m proud of the work that we’re doing here. And the idea is to pass the baton to the next set of parliamentarians that will come in until we get to our destination.
“Obviously, we have come a long way from where we were. And coming together, obviously, you can see the strength in unity. But we still have a long way to go. And with various reforms that are being projected, with the various work that you can see us doing here, setting targets that are short-term, medium-term, and long-term as well, I believe we’re going places.
“And the other thing that we also have to put in place is, remember, it’s not just the parliamentary body, but there are other segments, heads of states, and so on and so forth. I think everybody working together is key. And we will get there.”
Ends
LomeFrom: Vincent Ikuomola, Togo
The Economic Community of West African States has set a 1 January 2026 date for implementation of a 25% reduction of passenger service and security charges for air flights within the sub-region.
The move is part of the efforts to address high airfare within the region, which has been claimed to be the highest globally.
An oversight committee is expected to be in place latest June.
Besides, the proposal is also expected to be endorsed by the ECOWAS Council of Heads of State and Government in their next session in Abuja.
According to the report submitted for review by the committee of experts, the regional organs “have to make sure that the airport has to embrace business practices that help them to be able to cover that 25%.
Mr. Chris Appiah, Director for Transport at the ECOWAS Commission, told journalists at the sideline at the ongoing 6th Legislature: Delocalised meeting of Joint Committee of Infrastructure, Energy and Mines, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources in Lome, Togo with the theme: “Air Transport as a Means of Integration for West African Peoples: A Strategy for Reducing Airline Ticket Costs” that the potential benefits of cancelling taxes and reducing charges by 25% are enormous.
Apeh said the reduction will stimulate demands for air travel by 40% within the sub-region.
He also stressed the need for the airport authorities to be more efficient, looking at all non-revenue, non-revenue generation, and so on and so forth.
He said: “So we’ve conducted several studies among our member states to find out the cost structure of our tickets. I know it’s common knowledge that if you buy a flight ticket, a good percentage of it is as a result of taxes, fees, and charges, but we needed to do an in-depth study to understand.
“Now, what came out was we have about 112 charges, taxes, and fees being charged by our government and various service providers in the region. Out of these three came out to be the highest. First is the passenger service charge, which compared to other regions, ECOWAS ranks is charging almost 103% more than the average, you know, in Africa.
“Then we also have a security charge, which the ECOWAS region charges on the average about 53% more than the other regions of Africa. So from this analysis, we estimated to see which sections of these charges and fees and taxes that could be negotiated to be reduced to have an impact on our travel, our air travels in the region. “Now, bear in mind, ECOWAS stands for integration, ECOWAS stands for regional development, and a key element of regional integration is connectivity and the free movement of persons and goods.
“So if any set of taxes, fees, and charges or laws are inhibiting the free movement of legitimate persons and goods, then it needs the attention to solve it.”
He emphasized that the move already has the buying of the highest authorities in the region which had given their backing since 2014.
He stressed that the ECOWAS commission has been working with partners such as the International Air Transport Association, IATA, the Africa Airlines Association, AFRA, Africa Civil Aviation Commission, AFCAC in Dakar, and African Union, and ICAO to recommend a regional policy which will seek to harmonise charges, taxes, and fees across the region.
He added: “So this policy was done based on the assessment that we did. And the eventual strategy is to, one, remove all taxes from airfares. And this is not coming from nowhere.
“First, all member states of ECOWAS are signatories to the International Civil Aviation Conventions, right? And the annexes that relate to pricing of air transport prohibits taxation on air transport services. So one was to align with the global best practices in removing these taxes. The second strategy is to reduce the charges that were found to be excessive by 25%. That is the minimum we could reduce to make sure we have an impact on the travelling public.”
He further explained: “From our analysis and our simulations, if we are able to remove the taxes and reduce the charges by 25%, within a year, we have the potential of increasing air travel traffic by over 40%. So there was a notion before that when you remove taxes or you reduce charges, your revenue to governments and service providers would reduce. That has proven not to be true, because once you reduce these charges and remove the taxes, it has been proven that you are going to increase demand and traffic by over 40%. And that connotes increased revenue for the same uses that we seek to tax, to address.”
“ Now another finding that came out of our study was that in North Africa, Southern Africa, and East Africa, where some governments are charging zero taxes on air transport services, when we rank the top 10 airports in terms of passenger travels, the first eight are from these regions.
“When we rank the top 10 airlines on the African continent, the first eight are from these regions where they don’t charge any taxes, zero taxes, and their charges, which we are charging in essence of 103%, they charge sometimes 1.8%, and they are those performing well. So you look at airports in West Africa like Lagos, like Lome, or Accra, and you think that these are busy airports. But when you compare to others in Africa, we are not even part of the top seven.
Right? When you look at the top 10 airports in Africa in terms of passenger travels, and this is very well documented in all the studies by IATA, ICAO, even ECOWAS ourselves, the only airport that features was Lagos in terms of passenger traffic. When you look at interstate or in regional flights, the 10 busiest regional routes in Africa, it’s only Lagos and Accra that featured in the top 10, right? If you look at the top 10 airlines on the continent in Africa, it is only Airbus that featured as number nine. So from one to eight, these are from the regions or countries where taxation is zero on air tickets and charges are to the barest minimum, and respecting the four principles of pricing in air transport as set out by ICAO, where it says your costing should be cost-related.
“It should be sector-related. You don’t charge security tax on air transport. It has nothing to do with it. You don’t charge tourism tax on air transport. Air transport is supposed to improve your tourism, so you don’t tax it to stifle your tourism. There’s a principle on transparency.
“Governments don’t wake up one day and just say, we are imposing solidarity tax on the tickets without informing or consulting. So these are the principles that we are not respecting as members of ECOWAS, and that is what this new regional policy seeks to work with countries to solve. So in order for us to first have a good standing on the continent in terms of air transport, and it’s not for the good of anybody, it’s for the good of the citizens of West Africa, we need, as member states of ECOWAS, to implement this supplementary act which has been approved and adopted by our heads of states.
“By so doing, we have projected that revenue that could be generated is in excess of 500 million U.S. dollars, based on the 40 percent plus increase in traffic demand, which will be achieved from the reduction of the charges and the removal of the four taxes that have been identified to be not in compliance with international best practises as agreed at the level of ECOWAS. Now to achieve this, we need the participation of every stakeholder in the air transport business, right? So ECOWAS is the secretariat of the 15-member or 12-member states, as the case may be. So we coordinate among the countries to come up with these policies based on best practices.”
While the Commission will be leading the implementation, Apeh however said it behoves on individual member states to do the needful by ensuring adherence to the agreements on air travels.
He said: “In implementation, we will lead the coordination, but the implementation will be done at the country level. ECOWAS cannot go into a country and remove tax or reduce charges. So the first onus lies on the national governments, the ministers in charge of air transport, to work with their colleagues in finance, their parliaments, and all those involved to work towards the reduction of these charges and removal of the taxes.
“As we’ve said over and over again, we have data to suggest and to prove that the removal of these taxes and the reduction of the charges will not lead to a decrease in revenue. Rather, it will lead to an increase in revenue. So it means that this is for the benefit of the government, and eventually for the benefit of the citizens of West Africa, who are yearning to travel but are being suppressed by these high costs of tickets as a result of charges, taxes, and fees.”
He said in seeking solution, the committee did not only targeting governments or the private sector. “We know that the high cost of tickets also is contributed to by the service providers, the private sector, and even the airlines. So our strategy also includes engaging the airlines to also improve their practices, to engage in what we call co-sharing, or joint ventureship, to make sure that if you buy a ticket on any airline in the region, you’ll be able to fly on the aircraft of another airline, which reduces cost.”
Apeh also highlighted other options available to airlines to ensure that citizens of the sub-region enjoy reduced airfare.
He said: “So you don’t need to buy and be on Air Peace from Lagos all the way to Dakar, and maybe jump from Dakar to Banjul, because if Air Peace does a co-share with Asky, Airpeace will only bring you to, let’s say, Lome and Asky picks you to Dakar, and there’s profit sharing. So Air Peace doesn’t lose. Now if Air Peace lands in Lome, it pays landing charges, it pays security charges, it pays everything, so cost goes up. You land again in Dakar, you pay again. But if Air Peace does co-sharing or joint ventureship with Asky or with Africa World Airlines, or with Senegal Airlines, or with Air Cote d’Ivoire, what this means is there is cost sharing, so automatically Air Peace’s cost comes down, but you get your profit. And as we know with best practice, when you buy the ticket of Air France, you are able to fly on Lufthansa, you are able to fly on any airline which belongs to the Star Alliance group. So these are the best practices that we encourage airlines to use.
“And we’re also working with the civil aviation authorities who give operating licence to the airlines to move into sanctions should these airlines refuse to reduce tickets when the governments remove their taxes.”
Reacting to a question on regional or continental carrier, Apeh said it would be better for the regional government to provide the enabling environment while the private sector runs the business.
“In transport, service provision in transport is based on efficiency, you know, cost reduction and reliability.
“These elements are best achieved through the private sector, because the private sector is performance-driven. So the best practice has been for governments or the public sector to provide an environment for the private sector to run. In the past, we’ve had governments going into airline industries.
“And all the studies show that the government is not a very efficient vehicle to run businesses such as airlines. As has been said, it’s a very, you know, prestigious, sometimes it’s prestigious to have a national carrier, a national airline. But what the best practises has shown is that even when you go the route of having a national carrier, the practises, business processes should be private sector-orientated.
“You don’t start an airline and have it run by several servants. As we know, government machinery is very slow, there’s a lot of bureaucracy. So you do not, you do not, we do not encourage, we do not encourage governments to run airlines.
“However, we have models like what pertains in Ethiopia, where the government themselves, you know, is the majority shareholder in the national airline. But efforts have to be put in place to make sure that the airline is ring-fenced from the bureaucracy of the government, right? Because it thrives on efficiency, and you need it. That’s why we fall into the public sector. Even big carriers like British Airways are private-owned. It’s not the government of Britain that runs it. So in summary, we can have regional airlines or national or continental airlines, but the operations must be private sector-led, right? And when we achieve the strategies we have in visa policy, we will not need governments to come and run the airline.
“The private sector will have the perfect environment of least cost, efficiency, safety, security, to run and rival those who come from other parts of the continent or the world.”
Ends.
15 members, when it was 15 member states, the quorum was nine. Article 89 of the ECOWAS treaty. Now with the membership being 12, the quorum is six.
So once six member states are assent to the text, it becomes automatically applicable.
The ECOWAS Council of Ministers will be briefed quarterly on how the implementation is ongoing.
Ends
Prohibitive cost of airfare hampering free movement, integration, says ECOWAS Parliament speaker
….ECOWAS deliberate reducing airfare within member states
From: Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja
The issue of the high cost of flying within West African States dominated discussions on Tuesday at the gathering of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States in Lome.
The Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States, Parliament, Hadja Mémounatou Ibrahima lamented that the prohibitive cost of airfare within the West African region is hindering free movement and integration.
This is as ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalization, Mr. Sédiko Douka declared that air transport fare within the West African sub-region remains the highest anywhere in the world.
The occasion was at the opening of the ongoing 6th Legislature Delocalised meeting of Joint Committee of Infrastructure, Energy and Mines, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources in Lome, Togo with the theme: “Air Transport as a Means of Integration for West African Peoples: A Strategy for Reducing Airline Ticket Costs.”
Ibrahima emphasized that air transport is an essential lever for economic development and sub-regional integration.
She therefore stressed that there can be no free movement without transport facilitation.
She said: “The theme that brings us together today, “Air Transport as a Means of Integration for West African Peoples: A Strategy for Reducing Airline Ticket Costs,” is of paramount importance to our community. It reflects a major issue facing our citizens: the prohibitive costs of air travel between our countries, which hinder the free movement of people and compromise our ambitions for regional integration.
“Therefore, there is no need to emphasize the importance of air transport in a country’s economy, especially within a sub-regional community. Indeed, air transport is an essential lever for economic development and sub-regional integration. It promotes trade, stimulates tourism, strengthens cultural and social ties, and contributes to the growth of our economies. In reality, there can be no free movement without transport facilitation. And among these facilitations, transport costs figure prominently.”
She attributed the various taxes and charges for the prohibitive cost of airfare within the subregion.
“These airports contribute financially to state budgets in several ways, including landing fees, air ticket taxes, security taxes, non-aviation taxes, and revenues from commercial activities at the airport. However, it is clear that all these fees make air ticket costs prohibitive within the ECOWAS region, thus hampering a major driver of development: tourism.”
She also added: For my part, several factors may contribute to the high cost of air fares in our region. These include, among others: – excessive taxation and high airport fees; a fragmented aviation market, with national airlines operating in isolation rather than in synergy; a lack of modern infrastructure adapted to the needs of air transport; weak implementation of agreements liberalizing African airspace, notably the Yamoussoukro Declaration.”
She warned that for the sub-region to achieve its vision 2050 of Economic Integration and Interconnectivity, it must ensure a more accessible and efficient air transport.
She said: “If we are to achieve the objectives of the third pillar of ECOWAS Vision 2050, “Economic Integration and Interconnectivity,” it is up to us, as representatives of the peoples of ECOWAS and in view of our responsibility in the Community’s decision-making process, to explore viable and sustainable solutions. Our role is crucial in the realization of these reforms.”
Ibrahima therefore charged members of the Legislature to formulate strong recommendations to Member States and relevant institutions to ensure the establishment of a framework conducive to more accessible and efficient air transport.
She added: “I am convinced that the discussions that will take place during this meeting, to which we have invited African air transport experts and leaders, will be fruitful and will lead to concrete proposals to address this major challenge.
“Together, let us commit to working towards more efficient regional aviation, serving the integration and development of our community and for significant progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the aspirations that underpinned the African Union’s Agenda 2063.”
In his remarks, Mr. Sédiko Douka, ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalization who also echoed Madam Speaker claim of negative impact of high airfare within the sub-region said the situation has become a barrier to integration of the region.
Douka also revealed that recent studies conducted by renowned organizations showed that air transportation within West Africa is still less than 10%, which represented the lowest.
He said the ECOWAS leadership is concerned with the situation and has therefore charged the Commission to coordinate and harmonize the air transport policies, programs, and projects of Member States.
He stressed the importance of the Lome meeting to address the gap, revealing that the meeting has the blessing of the Head of States and government .
He said: “The air tariff in West Africa remains excessively high compared to other countries in the world. In this case, it is less expensive to make the flight to another African country than to travel between two countries in ECOWAS. This situation is counterproductive for the future of the West African region and the collective airspace.”
He also added: That recent studies conducted by renowned organizations in 2024 have shown low growth in air transport in West Africa (less than 10%). This, at a time when other regions, for example, record 40.4% for North Africa, 21.4% for Southern Africa, and 20.5% for East Africa. Other comparisons made in terms of domestic flights, intra-African travel, major airlines, and airport size have also shown that West Africa lags far behind these same regions mentioned above.
“In accordance with Article 32 of the Revised ECOWAS Treaty, the statutory bodies have mandated the Commission to coordinate and harmonize the air transport policies, programs, and projects of Member States. Likewise, to contribute all initiatives, strategies, and action plans aimed at improving air transport within its territory.
“In this context, in 2017, the ECOWAS Commission, in collaboration with Member States, conducted a study on a common policy on fees, taxes, and charges in air transport, the final report of which was submitted in 2018 in Accra.
“This policy was reviewed through validation workshops held by experts and ministers responsible for air transport from member states in May 2021. Subsequently, a task force was created to reflect on and submit recommendations on (i) updating the status of fees, taxes, and charges, and (ii) the total elimination or reduction of certain taxes and charges. This is in line with international best practices in the air transport sector. Furthermore, during the sixty-fifth (65th) ordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, held on July 7, 2024, in Abuja, Nigeria, the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government noted in the final communiqué the need to make air transport more accessible and affordable by reducing the cost of air travel to support the regional integration agenda.
“In response to this instruction, a meeting of Ministers responsible for Air Transport was convened on November 8, 2024, here in Lomé. The meeting concluded with modalities for the gradual reduction of taxes, fees, and charges aimed at making air transport more affordable. Thus, an Additional Act A/SA.2/12/24 6, relating to the common policy on fees, taxes and air transport charges in ECOWAS Member States and its implementation strategy, were adopted by the Ministers and submitted to the Conference of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS on December 15, 2024, which endorsed them.
“Our primary concern is to comply with ICAO principles and recommendations on setting charges, which are: (i) non-discrimination between users, (ii) transparency, appropriate pricing for services provided, and (iii) user consultation.
“The recommendations made by the Ministers to Member States for efficient regional air transport include, among others: Commit to eliminating all taxes in accordance with these ICAO principles and recommendations;
“Reduce the passenger service charge and the security charge by 25%; Reduce the cost of aviation fuel, etc.
“All this, with the aim, I say, of making our region efficient in terms of air transport, with its 400 million inhabitants.”
He also charged the meeting to consider the issue of common rules for passenger compensation in the event of denied boarding, cancellation, or significant delays of a flight within the ECOWAS region.
He further added: “The task now lies in working towards the implementation of these community texts by ECOWAS member states, whose effective implementation start date has been set for January 1, 2026, a 15-month period to allow them to prepare, particularly from a budgetary perspective.”
The ECOWAS Commissioner also charged Members of Parliament that the region is counting on them “ to implement the community texts that the states themselves initiated and participated in the development, review, and adoption process.”
He therefore urged them to engage strongly with member states to raise awareness about the implementation of these additional acts with a view to the sustainable development of air transport in West Africa.”
“As ECOWAS celebrates its 50th anniversary, it is an opportune time to highlight the organization’s visibility. While many achievements have been made in various areas/sectors of regional integration, these remain largely unknown to ordinary citizens, either due to a lack of awareness, communication, or simply the highly political orientation given to ECOWAS’s vision by stakeholders. Opportunities such as these allow you, as a Representative of the People, to gain a comprehensive view of the challenges, issues, strengths/weaknesses, opportunities/threats, and sectoral achievements,” he added.
Speaking earlier, Co-Chair, Delocalised meeting of Joint Committee: Infrastructure, Energy and Mines, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Sako Momadu, said the meeting aimed at addressing the high cost of air transport within sub-region
He stressed that the prohibitive cost of airfare is a real obstacle to the successful integration for West African peoples.
He stressed that high airfare within the region has continued to undermine the significant progress made by the regional body.
He said despite the significant progress and achievements of ECOWAS, numerous obstacles still remain, undermining all the efforts made. Prominent among these obstacles is the high cost of airfare.
According to him:“Indeed, the prohibitive cost of airfare is a real obstacle to the benefits of successful integration for West African peoples who want to see their travel facilitated to strengthen ties between ECOWAS peoples, see local entrepreneurs expand their markets, investors explore new opportunities, and regional tourism develop.
“As highlighted by the Authority of Heads of State and Government at its 65th Summit held in Abuja in July 2024, the cost of air travel within the ECOWAS region is considered one of the highest on the African continent. Airfares in West Africa remain excessively high compared to other regions of the world. In some cases, it is cheaper to travel outside the African continent than between two ECOWAS member states. This situation is counterproductive to the vision of a borderless and interconnected region.”
He said that the purpose of the meeting, therefore, is to proffer a solution that will help drive down the cost of airfare within the region.
“ Indeed, our Supplementary Act requires us to engage with our constituents and share with them the challenges they face in order to make recommendations to the relevant authorities or institutions for applicable solutions.
“That is why we are gathered here, with the objective of examining together—through expert presentations, panel discussions, and direct exchanges with key stakeholders—strategies and policies likely to contribute to reducing the cost of airfare in our sub-region. This includes exploring best practices in regulatory reforms, infrastructure development, tax policies, and airline operations,” he added.