In 1991, the African Economic Community Treaty was signed in

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks where the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community was signed in 1991.

Step 2: Explain the concept The African Economic Community (AEC) was set up by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to promote economic integration across Africa. Its roots go back to the Lagos Plan of Action (1980) and the Final Act of Lagos, which aimed at African self-reliance and economic cooperation. The treaty to formally establish the AEC was adopted at the OAU Summit held in Abuja, Nigeria, in June 1991. It is therefore often called the Abuja Treaty. It came into force in 1994, after enough member states ratified it.

Step 3: Check the options

• A. Addis Ababa: This is the headquarters of the OAU/African Union, but the treaty was not signed there.
• B. Abuja: This is where the treaty was signed in June 1991. The treaty's common name, the Abuja Treaty, points to it.
• C. Lome: The Lome Convention (1975) was between the ACP countries and the European Economic Community. The OAU's Constitutive Act of the African Union was adopted at Lome in 2000, but that is a different event.
• D. Tripoli: This is associated with the Sirte Declaration (1999) and Libya's push for the African Union, not the AEC treaty.

Step 4: Answer The treaty was signed in Abuja, so the correct option is B.

Exam tip: Link the name to the place. The Abuja Treaty was signed in Abuja (1991). Also remember the Lome link: Lome 2000 gave us the AU's Constitutive Act, and Lome 1975 gave us the Lome Convention. Don't mix them up.