ECOWAS: Morocco’s admission, a threat to Nigeria’s regional influence –Private sector

The Organized Private Sector in Nigeria, (OPSN), an umbrella organization of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Nigeria Association of Small Scale Industries (NASSI) and Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME); has further lent it’s voice to the ongoing debate on the application of Morocco into the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS), describing it as ‘a direct attempt of reducing the influence and strength of Nigeria as a strategic Political and Economic force in ECOWAS’.

OPSN, in a statement signed by President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Dr. Frank Udemba Jacobs, gave several reasons why Morocco should not be admitted into ECOWAS, further making a call to the Nigerian Government to deploy necessary diplomatic machinery to halt the proposed enlistment of Morocco into the membership of ECOWAS regional bloc.

“ECOWAS is a regional bloc meant for countries in West African sub-region as defined by ECOWAS treaty. Morocco is a North African country that shares no boundary with any of the ECOWAS Member States;

“Morocco joining ECOWAS is a direct attempt at reducing the influence and strength of Nigeria as a strategic Political and Economic force in ECOWAS;

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“ECOWAS treaty which promotes the reign of democratically elected presidents in all member states with a maximum of two terms by interpretation has no room for the monarchical system of Government in Morocco.

“Nigeria, leading the military wing of ECOWAS has expended lots of financial and human resources in restoring democratic government in some countries of the region”.

Jacobs made claims that the ‘EU-ECOWAS Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) affords 28 countries from European Union, free access into the regional market’, revealing that, “admitting Morocco will give free access to the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), an associate country of EU, Arab League and the Union for the Mediterranean, to flood the ECOWAS market with EU products. This is a decoy that will weaken the stance of Nigeria on the ECOWAS-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)”.

Jacobs, however, urged Government and stakeholders to continuously beat the drum by campaigning against the approval of the application and the eventual admission of Morocco into the Community as a full member.

“We hereby call on the Nigerian Government to as a matter of National interest and utmost urgency deploy necessary diplomatic machinery to halt this seemingly unacceptable proposed enlistment of Morocco into the membership of ECOWAS regional bloc. This will enable Nigeria to have a formidable position on or before the first quarter 2018 when the final verdict on the application of Morocco will be concluded by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)”.

 

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