The military leader of Niger Republic, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, has affirmed that the three Sahel countries, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, will not seek to rejoin the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The junta leader disclosed this on Monday in an interview with RTN News in the Niger capital city of Niamey.
The statement is coming after Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger Republic had resolved to exit ECOWAS immediately, with an accusation that the bloc has become a threat to them.
“Just because we are members of the bloc, food and medicine supplies were cut off. Power was also cut off, and our funds have been frozen. So, we consulted our friends in the Sahel on exiting the bloc to better the lives of our citizens,” General Tchiani said.
“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 So, we have withdrawn our membership from the bloc and would never return to the union.”
The Niger leader added that his country is not worried about the negative implications of leaving the bloc in the areas of security, socio-economics, trade, and others.
“Now that the world is a global village, is the world within ECOWAS? So, God will feed every human He created,” he said.
The African Union (AU) has also expressed its regret over the membership withdrawal of the three Sahel Nations.
The statement was made by the AU president Moussa Faki Mahamat and released on its verified X (formerly Twitter) page on Tuesday.
According to Mahamat, the bloc feels “deep regret” over the quitting of the three countries from the bloc.
The ECOWAS met in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja last week to review the exit of the Sahel countries from the bloc.
