During an emergency conference on Saturday in Abuja, Nigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, asked leaders of ECOWAS who were concerned about coup-hit states to reconsider their approach.
A number of political problems have plagued the region, and Tinubu informed heads of state assembled in Nigeria’s capital for the ECOWAS conference that they were convening at a “critical juncture.”
“I come before you today burdened by the weight of the challenges confronting us,” said Tinubu, who is also head of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, regional bloc.
In response to the recent takeovers of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Guinea, Tinubu declared that “we must re-examine our current approach to the quest for constitutional order in four of our members’ states.”
The four were not present at the summit and have been suspended from the organisation.
In January, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger announced their plans to leave the group permanently; however, ECOWAS has demanded that they come back.
“Reconsider the decision,” Tinubu advised them, adding that they should “not perceive our organisation as the enemy.”
The new military chiefs of the three nations have turned their attention to Russia both militarily and politically, driving out French ambassadors and personnel and accusing the former colonial power of instrumentalizing ECOWAS.
Following leaders’ private discussions, Tinubu was scheduled to make a statement regarding the bloc’s discussions later in the day.
Given that the group had stated prior to the conference that it would be concentrating on politics and security in the nation, Niger was anticipated to be a primary focus.
Following the military takeover of Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum in July of last year, the ECOWAS halted commerce and imposed severe sanctions.
