APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The An Extra-ordinary Session of the Mediation and Security Council (MSC) at Ministerial Level was held at the ECOWAS Commission headquarters in Abuja on Thursday,, February 8, 2024, to discuss the recent decisions of three member states to withdraw from ECOWAS.
The Chairman of the MSC and Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the opening session that these decisions have generated considerable concern across the region and beyond.
He described the meeting as crucial “to devise solutions to the challenges presented by these decisions” but stressed that “in our pursuit of solutions, we must remain committed to the principles of democratic governance and safeguarding the right of our people to freely elect their leaders.”
Tuggar added that “It goes without saying that we are stronger together as a Community. We project not just our common values and a more attractive market. We also can deal more effectively with those shared challenges that go beyond national borders: climate change, violent extremism, migration and organized crime, to name but a few.”
The statement by the ECOWAS Commission said that Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, in his speech, said that the unfolding events in the Region were posing threats to peace and political stability in the West African Community.
Touray declared that ‘’if there is a time for ECOWAS to stay together, this is the time and stressed that ‘’there is no challenge that ECOWAS cannot overcome.’’
He said that there was no real basis in the reasons given by the countries for their withdrawal of their membership of ECOWAS and added that they did not reflect on the implications of this decision to their citizens.
“The hasty decision of withdrawal of membership of ECOWAS did not take into account the conditions for withdrawal of membership from ECOWAS, as espoused in the 1993 ECOWAS Revised Treaty. But more importantly, the three Member States have not really reflected on the implications of this decision on the citizens,” he said.
It recalled that Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS “with immediate effect” through a joint communiqué signed by representatives of all three countries on 28th January 2024 which was subsequently followed by separate official notifications on the January 29th, 2024.
The Extraordinary meeting of the Mediation and Security Council at Ministerial Level is made up of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence from ECOWAS Member States.
GIK/APA
Abuja hosts Extra-Ordinary Ministerial Session of ECOWAS Mediation, Security Council
