Mahama Briefs Tinubu On ECOWAS Talks With Niger, Mali, B’Faso

President John Mahama on Thursday said the Economic Community of West African States is still engaging with its estranged members, now the Alliance of Sahel States.

However, he said talks have been complicated, adding that the bloc will “continue to dialogue” with the AES.

Mahama revealed this when he visited President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, to update him on recent negotiations with the military juntas of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.

According to him, these visits allowed him to gather issues of concern that needed further discussion.

He noted that it is his responsibility to brief the Chairman of ECOWAS, Tinubu, and fellow regional leaders and ensure continued dialogue with the Sahelian states.

“I came to thank him for the honour done me during my inauguration but also to brief him on the visits to the Sahealean countries Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger and to bring him up to date with some of the issues and to discuss with him.

“As ECOWAS chairman, it’s my duty to come and brief him on some of the concerns raised there so that we continue to dialogue with those other countries,” Mahama stated.

When asked by journalists if there was any good news, he acknowledged the complexity of the situation, saying, “It’s a complicated situation, and it’s not as easy as we think. We just need to continue to dialogue and see how we can continue to dialogue together.”

Meanwhile, President Tinubu reaffirmed that the welfare of innocent citizens must remain at the heart of all regional efforts to rebuild relations with estranged members of the ECOWAS.

“The citizens must be the first beneficiary and the first point of reasoning together,” he said at the meeting.

Tinubu, who serves as Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State, praised Mahama’s role in bridging what he called a “crucial gap” between the bloc and the AES.

His comments come within the six-month transition period the ECOWAS approved for the withdrawal of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso as member states.

At the 66th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government last December, the block declared a six-month transition period from January 29 until July 29, 2025, after which it would engage withdrawal protocol.

President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Touray, announced the resolution saying January 29 marked the elapse of the one-year statutory period since the three countries first filed their decision to withdraw.

The one-year period, among other reasons, provides time for a withdrawing state to settle the financial and legal obligations it may owe to ECOWAS or affiliated institutions.

The bloc also extended the mandates of Senegalese President, Bassirou Faye, and his Togolese counterpart, Faure Gnassingbé, who, since June 2024, led ECOWAS’s mediation efforts with the three withdrawing states.

During talks with the President of Germany, Frank–Walter Steinmeier, at the State House last December, Tinubu said Nigeria is open to pursuing diplomatic solutions to the political impasse in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, ensuring that innocent citizens are not made to bear the brunt of the actions of military regimes.

He argued that though the military juntas were reluctant to clarify dates on their transition programmes, ECOWAS will prioritise the interest and welfare of the citizens.