Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger pullout from ECOWAS created regional crisis — Tinubu’s aide

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, has said the withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States created a major regional crisis.

Dare spoke at a policy colloquium organised by the Ministry of Defence on Thursday in Abuja.

He said the three countries’ withdrawal in 2025 weakened ECOWAS protocols promoting regional integration and the free movement of goods and services.

“The rupture that came in 2025 when the countries pulled out of ECOWAS created a major regional crisis. That pullout from ECOWAS simply blunted the ECOWAS protocol that promoted integration, free movement of goods and services.

“It eventually led to the creation of AES, another counter-regional body to ECOWAS. But it also challenged the other instruments and protocols that we have for regional cooperation,” he said.

The Alliance of Sahel States, also known as the Confederation of Sahel States, is a political and economic union comprising Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

The three military-led governments formally exited ECOWAS in January 2025, months after announcing their intention to withdraw in 2024, citing what they described as the bloc’s failure to support them against jihadist insurgencies and its perceived alignment with former colonial power France.

The Minister of Defence, Gen Christopher Musa (retd.), also spoke at the colloquium, saying the Tinubu administration was prioritising national security to safeguard Nigeria’s sovereignty, preserve democratic institutions and promote national development.

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