On RFI on Friday June 25, 2021, the former Prime Minister of Benin, Lionel Zinsou approves the schedule for the launch of the ECO for 2027 and talks about the Nigeria case. The business financier spoke on the issue of the ECO and the particularity that Nigeria needs time to enter the single currency system.

According to Lionel Zinsou, the launch of the ECO scheduled for 2027 is a good time frame to achieve the convergence of economies because, with the time to adapt and the will, you have to work a lot. He gives as an example the case of the Euro in Europe, the preparation of which was very long. For Lionel Zinsou, if the realization of the euro lasted about twenty years, it is about the time it takes for the preparation of the ECO. On the other hand, he considers that Nigeria poses a particular problem since it represents a very significant weight and an economy different from the others. "You saw that when it was announced in December 2019, Ghana was very positive that the eight WAEMU countries were taking the name ECO and going faster than the others," notes the former Prime Minister of Benin to say that the other West African countries are not against the WAEMU approach. He clarified that Nigeria was negative because they have a different position.