The President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission, Omar Touray, on Thursday, expressed disappointment over the reluctance of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger to rejoin the regional bloc.
Touray, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the 92nd Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers in Abuja, noted that despite ECOWAS efforts to engage the countries, they had not responded positively.
The three Sahel countries had in January officially communicated their decision to quit the ECOWAS after they were slammed with sanctions over military takeovers.
Following the intervention of leaders of thought, ECOWAS lifted the sanctions and encouraged the three countries to return.
However, the invitation has been met with silence.
“Despite our entreaties, in the form of softening of sanctions, invitation of the governments to technical meetings, and request for meetings, we have not yet got the right signals from these member states.”
According to him, Guinea, which is one of the member states under military rule, is the only country that had given positive assurance to the bloc towards regional cooperation and integration.
“We have, however, gotten positive assurance from Guinea on the unity of our community.
Peoplesmind