The Economic community of West African States (ECOWAS) is seeking the return of three of its members – Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – which exited the 15-member bloc early this year.
Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is the Chairperson of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, appealed to the military leaders of these countries to rejoin the organization.
He made the call on Friday, August 9, during a meeting with the ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence Staff in Abuja.
“Our priority is to enhance security and uphold constitutional governance across our region,” Tinubu said.
“It has been a challenging period for me, especially with the exit of three member states. We are committed to persuading them to return, by any means necessary.
“No individual is wiser than the collective leadership we have here. We will extend a hand of friendship to them and provide compelling reasons for their return.”
The three countries left ECOWAS in January, claiming that the sub-regional organisation was being controlled by powers that were foreign to Africa.
In July, Presidents Assimi Goita of Mali, Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso, and Abdourahamane Tiani of Niger held their first summit in Niamey, Niger, where they created a three member Alliance of Sahel States (AES) to defend their joint interests.
“We are going to create an AES of the peoples, instead of an ECOWAS whose directives and instructions are dictated to it by powers that are foreign to Africa,” said Niger’s military leader, General Abdourahmane Tchiani.
Their departure from ECOWAS left the organization with 12 members amid regional security tensions, marked by terrorist and armed group attacks.
At the meeting on Friday, the Chairman of ECOWAS Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, informed Tinubu they had agreed on a joint strategy to combat insurgency and terrorism.
At the meeting, they discussed the requirements for setting up the standby force proposed earlier this year.
At the meeting, it was decided that ECOWAS will deploy 1,200 soldiers to Sierra Leone, with various countries pledging support for the initiative.
