The Federal Government has called on the Economic Community of West African States to take the issue of xenophobic attacks in South Africa to the African Union, urging a concerted continental response to the violence.
President Bola Tinubu, speaking through Vice President Kashim Shettima at the 69th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Sierra Leone, condemned the attacks on Nigerians and other Africans in South Africa.
“Nigeria condemns in strong terms the recent Afrophobic attack on its citizens and other fellow Africans in the Republic of South Africa,” Tinubu said.
“As already mentioned by His Excellency, the President of Ghana, ECOWAS should present this matter before the next meeting of the Authority of the African Union to send a clear message that this type of behaviour is unacceptable.”
“South Africa should be reminded that the freedom the country currently enjoys is due to the liberation efforts of African countries such as Nigeria.”
The Nigerian government has evacuated 1,490 of its citizens in seven batches following the attacks. Nigeria and Ghana, two leading ECOWAS members, are among the countries worst hit by the violence, with citizens killed, maimed or deprived of their livelihoods through the looting of their shops.
President Tinubu also reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to the newly developed ECOWAS Compact for the Future of Regional Integration, describing it as a landmark roadmap for strengthening regional solidarity, economic integration, democratic governance and sustainable development across West Africa.
“As the largest economy and one of the key founding members of our Regional Economic Community, Nigeria remains steadfast in its historic responsibility to continue the promotion of regional unity, peace, economic integration and democratic governance,” Tinubu said.
On democratic governance, the President warned that insecurity and instability remained major obstacles to development and urged leaders to avoid the temptation to tamper with constitutional term limits or exploit constitutional processes.
Tinubu also reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to establishing the proposed ECOWAS Counter-Terrorism Force and strengthening the ECOWAS Standby Force to improve intelligence sharing and regional responses to terrorism.
President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Alieu Touray, reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to strengthening governance, accountability and policy coordination across member states, noting that the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline stands as one of the most transformative initiatives ever undertaken in the region.
