The military leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger snubbed President John Mahama’s invitation to attend the ECOWAS summit in Accra, marking the launch of the 50th anniversary of the regional bloc.
Earlier reports had indicated that the leaders of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)—Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso—had accepted an invitation from President Mahama for an extraordinary ECOWAS summit in Ghana.
Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa stated at a press briefing last week that the meeting was expected to address the three nations’ withdrawal from ECOWAS to form the AES. “The invitation to the AES countries was part of President Mahama’s efforts to mediate between ECOWAS and the Sahel states,” Ablakwa explained.
He added that the host president had taken sole responsibility for the invitation, ensuring the leaders would attend as his guests.
No-show
Despite the diplomatic overture, the three leaders—Niger’s General Abdourahmane Tchiani, Burkina Faso’s Captain Ibrahim Traoré, and Mali’s Colonel Assimi Goïta—were absent from the ECOWAS event in Accra yesterday.
The Ghanaian government has yet to provide an explanation for their absence.
