The Chairman of the Economic Community of West Africa State (ECOWAS), Bola Tinubu, has asked the tripartite countries—Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—to re-examine their exits from the regional economic group on Saturday.
According to the post shared on his X handle, Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, disclosed that President Tinubu declared that ECOWAS, which upholds constitutional order, is not their enemy.
During his speech, the president stated, “I come before you today burdened by the weight of the challenges confronting us. I am equally buoyed by the spirit of collective resolve that defines our ECOWAS community.”
He acknowledged that the extraordinary summit was convened at a critical juncture that demanded the Group’s focused attention on regional issues.
“In the course of this summit, therefore, we would receive a memorandum from the ECOWAS Commission President on the peace, security, and political situation in the region.
“The Memorandum will give us an update on the current situation in the Republics of Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and Niger. On that note, our decisions must be guided by our commitment to safeguarding the constitutional order, upholding democratic principles, and promoting the social and economic well-being of the citizens of the aforementioned countries,” he said.
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“Times like we currently face in our subregion demand that we take difficult but courageous decisions that put the plight of our people at the centre of our deliberations. Democracy is nothing more than the political framework and the path to addressing the basic needs and aspirations of the people,” the president said.
The President also reiterated the reasons why the current approach, in the quest for constitutional order in four of the member states, must be re-examined. He therefore urged re-consideration of the decision of the three countries to exit their “homes” and not to perceive “our organization as the enemy.”
