At last, it appears the crisis between ECOWAS and the breakaway member -states of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger following the military takeover in these three countries, may be resolved albeit the growing uncertainty.
At the Extraordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS on Saturday, February 24 in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, the West African leaders announced they will lift sanctions on Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger for humanitarian reasons especially as the Muslim month of Ramadan approaches.
It is, however, believed that ECOWAS heeded the advice of one of its founding fathers, General Yakubu Gowon, who recently called for lifting the sanctions.
The West African leaders on Saturday lifted the sanctions with immediate effect, but insisted that Niger should provide the time table for immediate return to democratic rule and demanded the immediate release of detained President Mohamed Bazoum, who was toppled by the junta in Niger.
But during the extraordinary summit of the heads of state and government of the ECOWAS the closure of the land and sea borders between ECOWAS countries and Niger was lifted , the no fly zone of all commercial flight to and from Niger is to be lifted, suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS member states and Niger has been lifted , Freezing of assets of all service transactions including utility services is to be lifted , freezing of assets of Niger in ECOWAS central banks to be lifted, freezing of assets of Niger and state enterprises And parastatals in commercial banks is to be lifted.
One expert who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity said “ECOWAS pronounced those sanctions in haste and even made an attempt to send military forces to remove the military government in Niger, which will have brought unimaginable consequences on the citizens of that country and the region in general.
“The threat of the exit of the three countries was made manifest when the ECOWAS discovered that the three countries together occupied about 50% of the land mass of ECOWAS and were strategic partners in the war against terrorism in the Sahel region. Although in economic terms, the three countries are said to contribute only 5% to the bloc in terms of GDP.
Therefore, lifting the sanctions although belated is imperative to open a new vista in the dialogue that could bring back the three breakaway countries and assure them of their inclusion and the protection of their sovereign rights.
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