The Presidency has said the withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has weakened regional integration and created a major challenge to cooperation across West Africa.
Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, stated this on Thursday at a policy colloquium organised by the Ministry of Defence in Abuja.
The three Sahelian countries formally withdrew from ECOWAS in January 2025 after announcing their intention to leave the regional bloc in 2024. They subsequently strengthened their cooperation under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
Dare said the withdrawal disrupted important regional mechanisms, particularly ECOWAS protocols designed to promote economic integration and the free movement of goods and services among member states.
“The rupture that came in 2025 when the countries pulled out of ECOWAS created a major regional crisis,” Dare said.
“That pullout from ECOWAS simply blunted the ECOWAS protocol that promoted integration, free movement of goods and services.”
According to him, the emergence of the AES as an alternative regional bloc has further complicated existing arrangements for regional cooperation.
“It eventually led to the creation of AES, another counter-regional body to ECOWAS. But it also challenged the other instruments and protocols that we have for regional cooperation,” he added.
Dare also stressed the importance of effective border management to both regional economic integration and security.
He said properly managed borders could facilitate legitimate trade and movement while helping governments address security threats, noting that poorly managed borders could contribute to insecurity and instability.
The presidential aide also dismissed claims that Nigeria’s borders were closed, saying the country’s borders remained open but were subject to controls by immigration, customs and other relevant security agencies.
“Nigeria’s borders are open,” Dare said, urging politicians not to turn border security into an electoral issue or use it to score political points.
He explained that an open border did not mean unrestricted movement, stressing that security and regulatory agencies still had the responsibility of monitoring and regulating activities at the country’s entry and exit points.
“Our borders are critical. There are no open borders without controls. So you must understand there is a distinction,” he said.
Dare’s comments come as Nigeria and other ECOWAS member states continue to face the regional consequences of the Sahel countries’ withdrawal and the emergence of the AES as a separate regional alliance.
Earlier this week, Nigeria also called for renewed dialogue between ECOWAS and Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, maintaining that the three countries remain part of the wider West African family despite their withdrawal from the bloc.
