Niger junta leader vows country will never return to ECOWAS

Leader of Niger Republic’s military junta, Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, has vowed that his country would never rejoin the West African regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali which all have military regimes had, in January, withdrawn their countries from ECOWAS following sanctions placed on them as a result of coups that toppled democratically elected governments.

However, amidst pressure from the body for the countries to return to the body, Tchiani, in a statement on Monday, vowed that none of the three Sahel nations would rejoin the ECOWAS.

“Eager to achieve integration between the states of the sub-region and driven by the ideals of brotherhood, solidarity, mutual aid, peace and development, their Excellencies General Aboubacar Sangoulé Lamizana, General Moussa Traoré and Lieutenant Colonel Seyni Kountchė, respectively Heads of State of Upper Volta (current Burkina Faso), Mali and Niger, created with 12 of their peers, on May 28, 1975, in Lagos, the Economic Community of West African States,” Tchiani said in the statement.

“After 49 years of existence, the valiant people of Burkina, Mali and Niger note with much regret, bitterness and great disappointment that their organisation has moved away from the ideals of its founding fathers and pan-Africanism.

“Just because we are members of the bloc, food and medicine supply was cut off. Power was also cut off and our own funds have been freezed.

“So, we consulted our friends in the Sahel on exiting the bloc to better the life of our citizens. That we should withdraw from the bloc that is answerable to the foreign countries. So, we have withdrawn our membership from the bloc and would never return to the union.

“Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali remain important members of the Community and the Authority. Now the world is a global village and is the world within ECOWAS? So, God will feed every human He created.

“We would never release Bazoum. Setting Bazoum free is akin to stabbing ourselves in the stomach which would harm Nigeriens,” he added.

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