AU expresses regret as Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger send formal withdrawal notice to ECOWAS


The African Union

yesterday expressed “deep regret” over the decision by the military regimes in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to withdraw from the West African bloc ECOWAS.




Meanwhile, Niger has now sent ECOWAS official notification of its withdrawal from the West African bloc, an official source said Tuesday, a day after Mali and Burkina Faso did the same.

Niger’s foreign ministry has sent a note to ECOWAS formalising the country’s withdrawal from the regional body, according to the official source contacted by AFP.

The AU said its commission president, Moussa Faki Mahamat, “calls on regional leaders to intensify the dialogue between the ECOWAS leadership and the three aforementioned countries”, which accused the West African bloc of posing a threat to their sovereignty.

The three countries, which have shared tense ties with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) since the coups, announced their decision in a joint statement on Sunday.

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger were founding members of ECOWAS in 1975, but the bloc suspended all three and imposed sanctions on them following military coups that overthrew elected civilian governments.

It also left open a possible military intervention to re-establish constitutional order in Niger as a final option if needed.
The coups took place in Niger in July, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Mali in 2020.

On Sunday, the trio- which have formed an Alliance of Sahel States (AES)-jointly said ECOWAS had come “under the influence of foreign powers, betraying its founding principles” and was a “threat to member states and peoples”.

Nigerien authorities have not revealed the contents of the “note verbale”, attached to a letter sent to ECOWAS.


The notification marks the start of a one-year period before withdrawal from the bloc takes effect. During that time, countries remain bound by their membership obligations, under the bloc’s statutes.

On Monday, Mali and Burkina Faso said they had sent ECOWAS “formal notice” of their withdrawal.

The AU said Tuesday that the African Union Commission was willing “to provide all the assistance in its power for the success of the logic of fraternal dialogue, far from all external interference from wherever they come”.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/01/au-expresses-regret-as-mali-burkina-faso-niger-send-formal-withdrawal-notice-to-ecowas/

Tinubu has destroyed the unity of Africa

But can these landlocked countries survive on their own without the rest of the regional block? Some of them depend heavily on their neighbors for so many things.

God1000:
But can these landlocked countries survive on their own without the rest of the regional block? Some of them depend heavily on their neighbors for so many things.

North Korea will fail them. Solution is for African politicians to be faithful.

God1000:
But can these landlocked countries survive on their own without the rest of the regional block? Some of them depend heavily on their neighbors for so many things.

They're not landlocked. Guinea which is one of the four has access to the sea

tbarrister:


They're not landlocked. Guinea which is one of the four has access to the sea

You should have allowed them to be wallowing in their ignorance..!!

These APC people are simply retards, that's what they tell themselves, in their feeble mind the countries opting out would fail and their Tinubu would at the end come to be seen as a strategist...!!

Same rubbish the druggy did with subsidy is same thing he took to ecowas, this is the result now and today Nigeria is also feeling the heat...talking without thinking a statement through is bad especially if you call yourself a leader...!!

Very useless people..!!

Crooked ECOWAS is working with slave master Europeans to perpetuate the dependency of Africa on Europe.
This time is over. ECOWAS can go suck.

The fact is that anglophone countries like Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger allowed themselves to be used by France to frustrate most of ECOWAS plans including the single currency project especially whenever it felt its interests in West Africa was being threatened. You can't eat your cake and have it.

My take on the recent move of the current military Junta of countries to dump ECOWAS is that it is more selfish, dictatorial, emotional and optical than rational.
- Selfish because they want to hold unto power at all cost under the protection of Russia.
- Dictatorial because they never conducted any referendum on whether majority of their citizens wanted them to quit ECOWAS as many are earning their living in the remaining ECOWAS countries based on ECOWAS protocol.
- Emotional because they appear to be poised to make a political point.
- Optical because they want to appear revolutionary.

But the question is do they have any plan look inwards by embarking on a sovereign national conference to develop a new post-France constitution that will take into consideration the abuses, weaknesses and challenges the post-independence constitution has? Unless they do this, time will teach them that they just exchanged one exploitative master for another.

God1000:
But can these landlocked countries survive on their own without the rest of the regional block? Some of them depend heavily on their neighbors for so many things.

They're doing very well thank you.

Actually France has been exposed as the parasite that was keeping these countries down.

Did the African Union (AU) express regret when the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) suspended Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger?

It is sad that West African countries have allowed themselves to be divided, just to please outsiders under the guise of democratic rule.

panpan:
Did the African Union (AU) express regret when the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) suspended Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger?

It is sad that West African countries have allowed themselves to be divided, just to please outsiders under the guise of democratic rule.

Agreed 100 %

If these countries do well, I pity other west African countries still practicing demoCRAZY

God1000:
But can these landlocked countries survive on their own without the rest of the regional block? Some of them depend heavily on their neighbors for so many things.

Yes they can. Like most African countries, their biggest trading partner is China and not any of their fellow African countries.
Also, breaking ties with AU and ECOWAS doesn't mean they wouldn't do business with individual African countries.
Till date, minerals from Niger travel via Ivorian rail and ports to Europe.

Tinubu is wholly responsible for this disaster