Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Guinea absent at ECOWAS defence chiefs meeting
Tamarauemi Ebimini
Mali, Niger Republic, Burkina Faso, and Guinea were absent at the ECOWAS Defence Chiefs meeting held in Abuja.
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, is leading meeting of Chiefs of Defence Staff from 15 ECOWAS countries at Defence headquarters, Abuja today.
The military leaders are discussing the political situation in the Niger Republic.
Conspicuously absent are the Defence Chiefs from Niger, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and Guinea Bissau, a development indicating the countries’ opposition to ECOWAS’ stance on the Niger Republic.
The Committee of Defence Chiefs will deliberate on the political crisis and work towards a resolution within the 7-day ultimatum issued by the ECOWAS leadership last Sunday.
The outcome could either stabilise Niger or escalate tensions in the region.
Countries present at the meeting include; Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Togo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, The Gambia, Cote D’Ivoire, Cabo Verde, and Senegal.
ECOWAS had on Sunday during an extraordinary summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government chaired by Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Military junta in Niger to revert to the status quo or risk consequences including a possible military action.
