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Following the exit of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, has declared that it's not compulsory to be a member of the regional bloc.
Tuggar disclosed this when he granted an interview to Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera in Doha.
The Minister was part of the delegation that accompanied President Bola Tinubu on a state visit to the Arabian country.
During the trip, Tinubu and Sheikh Tamim Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, held discussions on potential collaboration in various sectors. The two countries also signed seven memorandums of understanding to deepen bilateral relations.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs minister was asked about the state of ECOWAS after the three Sahelian nations announced their withdrawal in late January.
“ECOWAS is a union of a community of people, and the emphasis is on the community, on the people, on the citizens,” he noted while insisting that it's the prerogative of the affected nations to make a decision.
On whether there's a need to reinvent ECOWAS, Tuggar said, “No, there isn’t. There’s a process [for leaving], and it takes about a year. It’s one thing to pronounce that you’ve left; it’s another to really disengage from ECOWAS itself because every citizen of ECOWAS carries a passport. (An ECOWAS passport guarantees visa-free travel within the bloc).
“We’re waiting to see if they’re even going to print the passports which are going to cost millions of dollars.
“We’re talking about 30 per cent of, let’s say, Cote d’Ivoire, coming from Burkina Faso, and Mali, which means they would need new residencies or they will have to leave Cote d’Ivoire and the same thing with Nigeriens in Nigeria, in several other places.
“So, it’s not as simple as it’s made out to be. The process of them leaving takes a lot more than just a simple pronouncement and there are certain procedures that have to be followed,” he stated.
The minister noted that ECOWAS has shown its readiness to mend relationships with the Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, as evidenced in the decision to relax the sanctions on them out of humanitarian considerations.
“Fasting during Ramadan is coming up, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the Chairman of ECOWAS, heads of state and government pushed for the removal of sanctions. The ECOWAS leaders endorsed it and the sanctions have been removed, borders have been opened,” Tuggar added.