PH
Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have announced their decision to leave ECOWAS, prompting a variety of reactions.
It did not come as a complete surprise, especially following the Niger coup last July.
On Thursday, the Burkinabe Prime Minister justified his decision in Ouagadougou.
“On January 28th, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger took the historic decision to withdraw from the Economic Communitiy of est African States ECOWAS, it is a carefully considered decision which came after a thorough analysis of the institution and the potential consequences of a withdrawal,” the attorney general said.
Authorities think that ECOWAS no longer meets the ambitions of the Sahelian peoples, making the AES alliance vital.
Premier Minister Apollinaire Joachim Kyélem de Tambèla condemns ECOWAS sanctions against his country, Mali, and Niger, accusing the bloc of failing to aid member states.
“Instead of an ECOWAS of the people, the organization has become a technocratic tool which that ultimately deviated from the legitimate aspirations of the west African peoples.”
“For proof, we have noted ECOWAS’s indiference when our vallient peoples were massacred, or as our fellow citizens endure humanaitrian crise , or in the face of the numerous destabilization attemps our states have encountered,” he went on to say.
Burkina Faso said it informed the 15-nation bloc of its decision.
AES countries have urged their populations to rally in support of the movement in the coming days.
