Segun Sowunmi, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), claimed in a recent interview on national television that the joint announcement by Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso about the trio’s withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), came 24-36 hours after Nigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is the chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, arrived in France.
Sowunmi made the assertion when speaking to issues about the current economic situation of Nigeria under the All Progressives Congress (APC) government.
While condemning Tinubu’s visit to France, Sowunmi said, “What is our president doing there 24 hours? Are you then surprised that 24-36 hours after he arrived France, countries in West Africa who feel that France is the issue that they have with all of their own local politics are saying they want out of ECOWAS?”
Claim: Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso announced withdrawal from ECOWAS 24-36 hours after Tinubu’s trip to France
Verification
To verify the claim, the CDD War Room checked the timeline of events and here is what we found. Tinubu departed Abuja for Paris on a private visit on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, Premium Times reported.
The presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, had disclosed in a statement that Tinubu would embark on a private trip to France on Wednesday and return to Nigeria in the first week of February 2024.
The Punch Newspaper also posted a video showing the moment the presidential jet was about to take off from the Abuja airport on Wednesday. Subsequently, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso announced their withdrawal from the regional bloc, ECOWAS, in a joint statement released on Sunday, January 28, 2024. The development was reported by multiple credible media outlets as can be seen here, here, here, and here.
According to reports, the three military-led West African countries accused the ECOWAS body of becoming a threat to member states.
Verdict: INACCURATE
Findings by the CDD War Room show that the three military-led West African states announced their withdrawal from the regional bloc, ECOWAS, on Sunday, January 28, 2024, four days after Tinubu left Nigeria for France.
Leave a Reply