Yusuf Tuggar, minister of foreign affairs, says the exit of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso tested the unity of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The exit of the three Francophone countries from the regional bloc last year was triggered by what they said were inhumane sanctions from ECOWAS after a series of coups swept across the Sahelian states.
It was the first time member states had openly expressed a desire to leave the 50-year-old bloc. Mediation efforts have yielded little progress.
President Bola Tinubu, who is also the ECOWAS chairman, has urged the bloc to keep its doors open in hopes of reconciliation.
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A statement issued on Wednesday by Alkasim Abdulkadir, special assistant on media and communications strategy to the minister, said Tuggar acknowledged that the exit of the three nations marked a difficult moment in ECOWAS’ history.
“It was never our wish to deliberate on the withdrawal of member states. But in recognizing the sovereignty of these nations under their current military governments, we must now adapt and chart a forward-looking path,” the statement reads.
According to the statement, Tuggar spoke at an ECOWAS extraordinary session convened by the bloc’s council of ministers in Accra, Ghana.
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The minister urged his regional counterparts to view the crisis as an opportunity for institutional renewal.
He said ECOWAS remains the most integrated regional bloc in Africa, shaped by harmonised policies and a shared vision for political, economic, and security cooperation.
“As we look ahead, our responsibility is to maintain the ECOWAS legacy and pass it on stronger to the next generation,” he said.
“Our unity has been tested before—and we emerged stronger. We will do so again.”
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Tuggar called for constructive deliberations, adding that ECOWAS remains the premier platform for addressing West Africa’s challenges.
