*Expresses Deep Concern On Senegal
Abubakar Hashim/ Sierra Leone
At the ongoing ECOWAS emergency ministerial meeting in Abuja, the regional body appears to be using diplomatic strategies, geared toward winning back to the bloc, the three military governments of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
The chairman of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, remarked, “Our meeting here today provides us the opportunity to carefully assess the challenges presented by the decision of the military rulers of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, to arbitrarily withdraw from ECOWAS, with the potential implications for the lives of the people and indeed the ECOWAS community as a whole”.
Speaking further, on Senegal, he remarked, “We are here to review the unfolding situation in Senegal and develop a plan to navigate the resulting complexities. We have faced similar crisis in the past”.
In a diplomatic move to achieve quick progress, Amb Tuggar revealed, “expectations are high that the meeting will transform challenges into opportunities. We are stronger together in fighting common challenges like trans border crimes, climate calamities, violent extremism, migration and organised crimes”.
On his part, ECOWAS President, Dr Omar Touray, remarked on similar trend. He revealed that while preparing for the ECOWAS meeting, “Senegal saga occurred, when President Sall postponed February 25 elections, resulting in mass protests, putting ECOWAS on a tight leash, but we condemn the action and called for a quick return to the country’s electoral calendar.”