The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Council of Ministers will be meeting in Accra, Ghana, to deliberate on the withdrawal of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso from the regional bloc, NAN reports.
The Chairman of the Council, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, made this known in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir.
He said the Extraordinary Session followed “directive from the Authority of Heads of State and Government during its 66th Ordinary Session, mandating the Council to adopt modalities and a contingency plan for the disengagement of the three Sahelian nations.
“The ECOWAS Commission is expected to present memoranda addressing the withdrawal process, suspension of programmes in the affected countries, and challenges related to the free movement of people, goods and services.
“Additionally, the Council will examine the potential relocation of ECOWAS institutions and agencies currently based in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger with an eye toward mitigating any disruptions caused by their exit.”
He said the session marked a difficult moment in ECOWAS’s history, adding it was never the community’s wish to deliberate on the withdrawal of member states.
“In recognising the sovereignty of these nations under their current military governments, we must now adapt and chat a forward-looking path,” he added.
He urged the ministers to embrace institutional renewal and recommitment to regional integration, emphasising ECOWAS remain the most integrated regional bloc in Africa, underpinned by harmonised policies and shared vision for political, economic and security cooperation.
