By Damilare Adeleye
The Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) has reacted to the withdrawal Burkina Faso, Niger Republic and Mali from the regional bloc.
It would be recalled that the military leadership in the three countries announced their immediate withdrawal from ECOWAS via a joint statement read out on Niger national television.
The leaders of the three Sahel nations issued a statement saying it was a “sovereign decision” to leave the Economic Community of West African States “without delay”.
“After 49 years, the valiant peoples of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger regretfully and with great disappointment observe that the (ECOWAS) organization has drifted from the ideals of its founding fathers and the spirit of Pan-Africanism,” Colonel Amadou Abdramane, Niger junta spokesman, said in the statement.
“The organization notably failed to assist these states in their existential fight against terrorism and insecurity,” Abdramane added.
Reacting to the development, ECOWAS said it is yet to receive any official notification from the authorities of the three States to that effect.
“The ECOWAS Commission is yet to receive any direct formal notification from the three Member States about their intention to withdraw from the Community,” the statement partly reads.