Civil Society and media organizations in West Africa have set agenda for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), calling on the regional bloc to “urgently call for an emergency extra ordinary summit to look into the state of affairs in the region in order to prevent further threats of disintegration.”
The Civil Society Organizations also urged Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger to refrain from transforming to civilian rulers.
They stated this in a communique they issued at the end of CSOs, Media interactive meeting on the state of ECOWAS and regional integration in West Africa.
The communique read; “The stability of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as a regional bloc of economic, human and political development has been threatened in recent years by political instability and security challenges in some member states.
Since August 2020, the region has recorded several coups where democratic governments have been toppled and constitutional procedures trampled.”
“CSOs, media organizations, urge Mali Burkina Faso, and Niger to refrain from transforming to civilian rulers, urge dialogue against withdrawal,” the statement said.
The CSOs are: West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), the Transition Monitoring (TMG), the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP-Nigeria), Nigeria Network of NGOs (NNNGOs) and Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) organized a CSOs and Media Interactive Meeting on State of ECOWAS and Regional Integration in West Africa.
The meeting which was held in Lagos on Monday centered on the state of affairs within ECOWAS and measures required to avoid further instability and possible disintegration of the regional bloc which before now had been regarded as the template for regional integration in Africa.
It also acknowledged the relevance of ECOWAS to the integration of the region with notable achievements among which include the free movement of persons, the trade liberalization scheme and, above all, the establishment of the Customs Union, with the entry into force of the Common External Tariff (CET) in 2015 which have contributed to furthering integration of the region.
It added: “The withdrawal defeats the purpose of regional economic corporation within the ECOWAS bloc including the establishment of an African Continental Free Trade Area. It will adversely affect the life and livelihood of the citizens of West Africa.”
The groups said immediate dialogue must be pursued with the affected countries and all sanctions be removed to pave the way for genuine reconciliation.
It also urged: “The Authorities of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso to rescind their decisions to withdraw from ECOWAS because of obvious beneficial reasons. State and non-state actors in the region should intensify engagements towards ensuring a more united ECOWAS.”
Kop’ep Dabugat of theWest African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF), Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani) of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Solomon Adoga of the Transition Monitoring (TMG), Patience Ikpeh-Obaulo of the West Africa Network for Peace building (WANEP-Nigeria) and Ezeobi Chiemelie of the Thisday Newspaper, are among the civil society leaders that signed the communique.
