President Bola Tinubu on Sunday said the Sahel Alliance comprising Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso would not lessen the resolve of the Economic Community of West African States to uphold its primary objective.

This objective, he said, is to prioritise good governance for West Africans, as it catalyzes socioeconomic transformation and development.

Tinubu affirmed this in his opening address at the 64th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.

He told heads of state, “It is important that we also review some development in our sub-region, including the move by some of our members under Military rule to float an Alliance of Sahel States.

“This phantom, push back-alliance appears intended to divert attention from our mutual quest for democracy and good governance that will impact the life of our people.

“We refuse to be detracted from pursuing the collective dreams, aspirations, and the noble path of ECOWAS integration as laid out in our institutional and legal frameworks.”

In September 2023, Mali’s Assimi Goita, who seized power in a military coup in 2020, explained that the “Liptako-Gourma Charter” forms the building block for an “Alliance of Sahel States to establish.