ECOWAS: Experts decry deteriorating security situation in the Sub-Region

JONAS  EZIEKE , Abuja

Experts from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have decried the incessant security situation in the sub-region, stressing the need for urgent steps to curb the disturbing situation.

This was the top agenda of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council Meeting held in Abuja at the backdrop of continuing security threat in the sub- region which could undermine integration agenda and regional stability.

Speaking during the session at the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja yesterday, Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairperson of the Mediation and Security Council, Shirley Ayoko Botchway, said attacks by terrorists and violent extremist groups are increasing across the region leaving no member state spared as a potential target.

She added that the COVID-19 pandemic has also added a new layer of complexity with growing cases of the new Omicron variant and a possible new wave threatening social cohesion, the welfare of citizens and economic recovery.

This is in addition to the already difficult situation of the military takeover in Guinea, after the one in Mali, weakening regional stability.

“The deteriorating security environment in the region is of grave concern, from the Sahel region through the Lake Chad Basin and beyond, attacks from terrorists and violent extremists have morphed with banditry, kidnapping, farmer-herder dynamics and transnational organized crime leaving a trail of death and destruction. Indeed the terrorist groups are currently testing border defenses of coastal nations intending to extend their reach to the member states of the Gulf of Guinea,” she said.

She however, expressed hope that amid all these uncertainties, the community has continued to consolidate democracy in the region with parliamentary and presidential elections in Cape Verde and The Gambia taking place and ending peacefully.

“I wish to congratulate the people of Cape Verde and the Gambia for these elections. These elections come after those of Benin and Niger earlier this year,” she added.

The Ghanian Minister also condemned the military coups in Mali and Guinea, saying they remain a challenge to ECOWAS, even as the Authority of Heads of States and Government of the region has held several extra- ordinary summits to address this matter while the council examine progress in these two countries.

“This session will also among other things consider the Draft Revise Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good governance, following the directive from our heads of state at the extra-ordinary summit held on the 16 September 2021 in Accra to review the protocol. The objective is to strengthen democratic governance on our region. We will also be receiving update on the humanitarian situation and the status of operationalisation of the national early warning mechanism.

“I am confident that our accomplishment as a community and the challenges threatening our progress will inspire us all to engage in lively deliberations and conclusion that will contribute greatly in pushing our community’s integration agenda to newer heights in this context. I seize the opportunity to thank the commission for the efforts made to enhance the community’s peace and security architecture as well as the democratic structures of the ECOWAS member states,” she said.

Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to ECOWAS, Ambassador Musa Nuhu, said that at the Third Extraordinary Summit that took place in Ghana, the Heads of State gave a directive that there is need for ECOWAS to review its Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.

“In the region we have a protocol on democracy and good governance which compels all member countries to comply with the principles of democracy. In other words every member states is supposed to comply with the provisions of that protocol,” he said.

He noted that some new provisions have been introduced which laid emphasis on compliance to two term limits for the head of states, which has been recommended by the experts and validated by the ministers and the ambassadors.

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