A few months ago, the Republic of Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Guinea experienced coup d’états, creating fears that democracy could be in danger in the region.
Touray who spoke at the second ordinary session of the ECOWAS Parliament of the year 2023 in Abuja, said the resurgence of coup d’états has challenged the region in more ways thereby making West Africa reflect on what is not working in its process of consolidating democracy.
He said, “As politicians, you are best suited to guide us on what we must do to tackle the root causes of all these unconstitutional changes of government.
“We count on your wisdom to help in safeguarding the rights of our people and for the preservation of peace, security, and stability, which are necessary for our socio-economic development and regional integration process.”
Touray said, at the political level, ECOWAS was engaging in dialogue with the Member States in transition, namely Burkina Faso, Mali, and Guinea, to support them to return to normal constitutional order through the organisation of free, transparent and inclusive elections.
“As far as the Republic of Niger is concerned, we adhere to the guidance of the current Chairman of ECOWAS to resolve this crisis through dialogue and negotiation.
“On the security front, the region continues to suffer from attacks by armed groups and terrorists who seriously threaten the territorial integrity of Mali and Burkina Faso, resulting in loss of life, material damage and millions of displaced persons and refugees.
“In this regard, we continue to provide multifaceted support to help these countries face these challenges, despite the sanctions,” he said.
Speaking earlier, the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Dr Sidie Mohammed Tunis, noted that the region’s prosperity and security are inextricably linked to its members’ shared responsibility to look out for one another.
Tunis said “Only a foolish neighbour goes to bed when his neighbour’s roof is on fire.
“In a region of interconnected threats and challenges, we can only address our issues effectively through broad, deep, and sustained cooperation among states.”
Tunis also called for greater self-reliance from ECOWAS member states. He said that the region cannot rely on outside help to solve its problems.
Also, ECOWAS Parliamentarians have appealed to the Heads of State and Government in the region to lift the sanctions imposed on the Niger Republic.
The Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate, who is also a member of the ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Ali Ndume, addressed journalists after the opening session of the parliament in Abuja on Wednesday, saying the sanctions were biting hard on the masses including Nigerians in the border states.
“Niger is bordering about eight states in Nigeria, namely Borno, Yobe, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Kebbi. Since the closure of the border and the imposition of sanctions, poor people especially children and women have been exposed to untold hardship and no meaningful progress have been made in term of resolving this issue.
“We are, therefore, using this opportunity of the 2nd extraordinary session of the ECOWAS Parliament to appeal to the ECOWAS Head of State to intensify the resolution of the political impasse in Niger by first lifting the sanctions and opening the closed border of Niger and Nigerians.
“Let me add by saying that this is a collective decision by some of us who are concerned about what is going on and the suffering our people are going through.
“This also affects other non-border countries because Niger is a lead way for goods moving from Sokoto to Ghana, goods moving from Togo to Nigeria, and goods moving from several parts of the ECOWAS countries from the West down to the North,” he said.
Ndume said they thought the sanctions were temporary and the issues would have been resolved, “but it’s getting to four or five months into the political impasse, the only thing we know that is happening is the increased suffering of the poor people of Niger and to some extent, Nigeria.”
Also speaking, Hon Abdullahi Salame, from Sokoto, said his people were suffering from the sanctions on the Republic of Niger.
He said thousands of trailers loaded with food items to be transported to Niger were stranded at the order, lamenting that the food items were already decaying.
He said the border closure is also increasing insecurity in the region.
