General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the head of the military junta in the Niger Republic, has made it clear that none of the three Sahel nations will re-join the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Tchiani made this claim on Monday in a Niamey, Niger capital, interview with the RTN news channel.
Parallel Facts reminds readers that on January 28, the military regimes in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger jointly declared their intention to immediately leave the ECOWAS.
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The leaders of the three Sahelian countries stressed that leaving the group quickly was a “sovereign decision” even as they threatened to quit.
“Just because we are members of the bloc, food and medicine supply was cut off. Power was also cut off and our own funds have been freezed. So, we consulted our friends in the Sahel on exiting the bloc to better the life of our citizens. That we should withdraw from the bloc that is answerable to the foreign countries. So, we have withdrawn our membership from the bloc and would never return to the union,” he said.
In response to the implications of its withdrawal on security, trade and socio-economic activities, he said, “Now the world is a global village and is the world within ECOWAS? So, God will feed every human He created.
“We would never release Bazoum. Setting Bazoum free is akin to stabbing ourselves in the stomach which would do harm to Nigeriens,” he added.
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