The critical question is why should a serious nation join ECOWAS?

The President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission, Omar Touray, has expressed disappointment over Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger’s reluctance to rejoin the regional bloc.

Touray, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the 92nd Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers on Thursday in Abuja, noted that despite ECOWAS’s efforts to engage these countries, they have not responded positively.

Since January 28 2024, when the military juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger announced their decision to withdraw from ECOWAS, the regional body has attempted to negotiate their return through sanctions relief and invitations to technical meetings.

However, these attempts have been met with silence.

He suggested a Special Summit to address the broader changes in the international system impacting member states, including governance, external relations, and the influence of new technologies and social media.

“Despite our entreaties, in the form of softening of sanctions, invitation of the governments to technical meetings, and request for meetings, we have not yet gotten the right signals from these Member States.

“It has become evident that changes in the international system, which is significantly affecting our member states, are playing a role.

“To this end, we are proposing a Special Summit on the Future of our Community to examine the developments in the world and their impact on our community to re-think our integration in terms of governance, relations with external partners, our Community norms and values, and approach to emerging issues like new technologies, social media and fake news, among others,“ Touray said.

The ECOWAS president also raised concerns about the organisation’s financial health, stating that increasing demands and complex challenges are straining resources.

He called for urgent and decisive action to improve financial stability through better Community Levy mobilisation.

“As the demands increase, and the challenges become more complex, our financial situation is dwindling.

“Therefore, we will be highlighting some of the challenges associated with the Community Levy mobilisation.

“I must admit that some of these issues are recurring and would require urgent and decisive action to improve the financial situation of the institutions and enable ECOWAS to respond to the diverse demands of the day,” he said.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chair of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, echoed these concerns while opening the session.