The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, has said the withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States triggered a major regional crisis and weakened key mechanisms for regional integration.
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger formally withdrew from ECOWAS in January 2025 after announcing their intention to leave the bloc in 2024.
The three countries subsequently consolidated their cooperation under the Alliance of Sahel States.
Speaking at a policy colloquium organised by the Ministry of Defence on Thursday in Abuja, Dare said the exit of the three Sahelian countries from the regional bloc blunted the ECOWAS protocols designed to promote economic integration and the free movement of goods and services.
“The rupture that came in 2025 when the countries pulled out of ECOWAS created a major regional crisis. That pullout from ECOWAS simply blunted the ECOWAS protocol that promoted integration and the free movement of goods and services.
