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The Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government has constituted a committee headed by President Roch Marc Christian Kabore of Burkina Faso to review and report to it on Nigeria’s land border closure with it neighbours.
Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the decision to set up the committee was agreed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at an extraordinary session of ECOWAS leaders convened on the sidelines of the 33rd Afican Union (AU) Summit to discuss the issue and other pressing regional matters.
Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, told journalists after the session that the meeting attended by President Buhari and chaired by ECOWAS Chairman, President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger Republic, also discussed West Africa’s new single currency, the Eco and the situation in Guinea Bissau after the presidential election.
On border closure, Onyeama said: ‘”The President of Burkina Faso is charged with undertaking a full study of the situation, make a report and then we take it from there.”
Asked when the report will be presented to ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, he said, ‘”As soon as possible, there are no timelines. But he is supposed to start very quickly, study the situation from all the affected countries and present his report.
On the Eco currency, Onyeama said: “Nothing has changed in respect of Nigeria’s position” adding that Nigeria’s position was that most of the countries have not the convergence criteria, therefore there has to be an extension of time on the takeoff of the single currency.
On Guinea Bissau, he said ECOWAS leaders recognised that there was an appeal of the presidential election result and they were waiting for the Supreme Court decision on the matter.