WEST African leaders have rallied support for the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, over mounting criticisms of the world body's controversial oil-for-food programme in Iraq.

A week-long summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Accra, Ghana, which ended on January 19 provided an apt forum for the leaders to take a position on the current travail of the "son of Africa" at the UN. At the end of the summit, the leaders deplored the manner in which the probe of the UN programme is being carried out.

The sub region's decisions came ahead of the Eight African Union (AU) summit scheduled for the International Conference in Abuja on January 29 and 30.

ECOWAS Executive Secretary, Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, has also called for a united African voice on the proposed expansion of the permanent seats at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

At the summit, Nigerien President Mamadou Tanja, took over from his Ghanaian counterpart John Kufuor as the body's chairman, the latter having completed his maximum two consecutive terms.

The United States (U.S.) is spearheading the probe of the oil-for-food programme in which Annan's son, Kojo, is alleged to have worked for Cotecna, the company that won the contract.

A statement by the ECOWAS leaders at the end of the Accra summit decried the clamour for the resignation of the UN top scribe without the benefit of due investigations.

The statement read: "The authority has observed with increasing dismay, the vociferous and relentless campaign being conducted by some people against the person of our illustrious son, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan."

They added: "We are particularly appalled at the desperate attempt to link him with the fraud allegedly perpetrated under the oil-for-food programme in Iraq, which is co-ordinated by the UN."

The statement continued: "Our concern is particularly heightened by the fact that the campaign has so far thrived on innuendoes and speculation, in total disregard of the ongoing investigation to unravel the perpetrators of the alleged fraud. We are therefore constrained to conclude that this might be part of a wider conspiracy of calumny against the Secretary General whose tenure has been marked by the reinvigoration of the UN and the restoration of confidence in its capacity to deliver on its mandate."

The ECOWAS leaders described the moves against Annan as "tendentious," and presuming "guilt in the absence of evidence not only deny him (Annan) of his entitlement to fair hearing, which is a fundamental principle of law, but also stand the risk of prejudicing the ongoing investigations into the matter."

The leaders said: "We are resolutely behind the Secretary General who has demonstrated remarkable integrity in his conduct at the helm of the UN."

They added: "We assure him of our unflinching support in the challenging job of deploying the UN in the service of humanity.

"We want to remind those behind the campaign that this could spiral out of control with potentially dangerous consequences for the cohesion of the organisation. They could do well to channel their energies to assisting the panel investigating the alleged fraud not only to determine those behind it but also to implement whatever reforms might be necessary to prevent a reoccurrence."

One of the decisions of the summit is the ratification of a plan that envisages the implementation of 14-priority transmission projects estimated at $1.3 billion under the West African Power Pool (WAPP). It is expected that about $16 billion will be invested between 2004 and 2020 in power generation and transmission. Of the amount, some $9 billion is required for the first two phases of the project (2004 to 2011) that will include the construction of identified new hydro-electric projects.

The leaders also approved some measures to accelerate the implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision for the liberalisation of air transport in West Africa. This include the creation of an air transport unit in the ECOWAS Secretariat to co-ordinate the implementation of the decision and an agreement to provide counterpart funding to complement donor support in the implementation of the programme.

On regional security, they called for continued international support for Liberia as it continues the challenging process of restoring durable peace and stability.

The leaders reaffirmed their confidence in the Linas Marcoussis and Accra III accords as the framework for the resolution of the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire. To this effect, they expressed support for the initiatives of the UNSC and the AU to restore peace to the country.

They expressed satisfaction with the opening of the Office of the Special Representative of the Executive Secretary in Guinea Bissau. They further reiterated that the priorities in the country remained security sector reform, economic development and ensuring credible, free and fair elections in May 2005.

The Summit took note of the need for the region to support the mini-round table planned by the government for early March 2005 and commended the European Union and the Netherlands for their pledge to support the security sector reforms. They appealed to other members of the international community to do the same.

The Summit took cognisance of the briefing on the reforms and expansion of the UNSC by the Secretary General's High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change and welcomed the recommendation by the panel for the enlargement of the Security Council.

The leaders expressed the belief that more effective African membership of the Council, permanent or not, was long overdue and called on the AU to reconsider the matter with a view to adopting a common African position in the light of prevailing circumstances.

They recommended the setting up of a Project Development and Implementation Unit with responsibility for project preparation and resource mobilisation for the implementation of ECOWAS/ NEPAD infrastructure projects.

Speaking with The Guardian on Tuesday in Abuja, Chambas reiterated the sub-region's confidence in Annan.

He also called for a united African position on the proposed expansion of the permanent seats at the UN Security Council.

He wants the AU to present an African position on the proposed increase, preferably opting for option A, which provides for more permanent seats.

"This is something we believe will reflect Africa's weight in the international community. As a continent of 53 countries, we are an important part of the Security Council. So we would want to associate with the call for the expansion of both the permanent and the non-permanent seats of the UN Security Council," he said

"They acknowledged the sterling leadership that Annan has provided at the helm of the UN," Chambas declared. He added: "They also expressed great disappointments at those who had tried to undermine his work and the unjustified criticisms that he had been subjected to."

He, however, said that it was inexpedient to speculate on the countries that might win the two slots among Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt.

He noted that the critical factors to be considered are the eligible countries' sizes, population, roles on African issues, economy, which voices can stand out to defend Africa's legitimate interests and clout.

Chambas' words: "African seats at the UN would indicate that the UN is truly a global organisation. It will express a democratic nature of the UN. Given the size of our countries and our populations, we should not be marginalised in global affairs. It will continue to be a dangerous precedent if Africans or African voices are silent from the UN Security Council, which is for now the power house in world affairs. Until we have a seat at the Security Council our voices cannot be heard in world affairs."`