Nigeria Urged to Block Morocco’s Membership of ECOWAS

Rotimi Morgan/

Nigerian government has been advised to oppose Morocco’s bid to become a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

A retired Nigerian diplomat, Zango Abdu, said Morocco’s bid to join ECOWAS posed serious security threat to Nigeria and the entire region.

Also, the Centre for Democracy Development (CDD) urged the federal government to ensure that the application of Morocco to join ECOWAS is rejected.

Abdu gave this advice in a panel discussion, which examined the security “Implication of the Ascension of Morocco to ECOWAS’’ at a high-level dialogue on opportunities and threats of the ascension in Abuja, according to a report by African Business Review.

Abdu, who chaired the panel, said Morocco’s membership of ECOWAS would increase the threat posed to Nigeria, Chad, Cameron and Niger by Boko Haram.

The panel was concerned that the increasing influence of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Morocco would directly impact the activities of terrorists in the country, Abdu further disclosed.

The panel concluded that any threat to the stability of of Nigeria, which is the biggest military power, as well as the biggest economy in West Africa, would invariably throw the entire region into turmoil.

Director of CDD, Idayat Hassan, noted that “ECOWAS is for the states in the West African sub-region and in this regard, the revised treaty defined the region as the geographical zone known as West Africa as defined by a resolution of the then OAU [Organization of African Unity] Council of Ministers.”

She further affirmed: “Morocco is not classified among the member states of the ECOWAS by the UN and the African Union.

“Morocco’s move to join the ECOWAS is a deliberate ploy to reduce the influence and strength of Nigeria.”

Hassan’s colleague, Senior Programme Officer, Shamsudeen Yusuf also added: “Nigeria has been playing the ‘mother goose’ role within the regional body for several years.

“Ascension of Morocco to ECOWAS might create tension between the country and Nigeria, which may invariably affect effective operations of the regional blocs, particularly in facilitating the process of economic development and democratic deepening in West Africa.”

Ecowas has in principle approved Morocco’s membership application but formal approval has yet to come.

0