Omar Touray, president of the ECOWAS Commission, left and Ivory Coast President, Alassane Ouattara, arrive ahead of the ECOWAS meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Heads of state across West Africa met on Saturday to discuss the region's existential challenges with a renewed plea on junta-led nations to rescind their decision to quit the regional bloc and a plan to review of sanctions it imposed to reverse the coup in Niger. (AP Photo/Gbemiga Olamikan)
Omar Touray, president of the ECOWAS Commission, left, Senegal's President Macky Sall, center and Nigeria Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar pose for a photo, ahead of the ECOWAS meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Heads of state across West Africa were met on Saturday to discuss the region's existential challenges with a renewed plea on junta-led nations to rescind their decision to quit the regional bloc and a plan to review of sanctions it imposed to reverse the coup in Niger. (AP Photo/Gbemiga Olamikan)
Omar Touray, president of the ECOWAS Commission, left, Ivory Coast President, Alassane Ouattara, centre, Nigeria Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar right, before the ECOWAS meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Heads of state across West Africa were meeting on Saturday to discuss the region's existential challenges with a renewed plea on junta-led nations to rescind their decision to quit the regional bloc and a plan to review of sanctions it imposed to reverse the coup in Niger. (AP Photo/Gbemiga Olamikan)
Togo's President, Faure Gnassingbé Eyadéma, centre, looks on, prior to the start of the ECOWAS meeting, in Abuja, Nigeria, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Heads of state across West Africa met on Saturday to discuss the region's existential challenges with a renewed plea on junta-led nations to rescind their decision to quit the regional bloc and a plan to review of sanctions it imposed to reverse the coup in Niger. (AP Photo/Gbemiga Olamikan)
Nigeria's President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, third from left, first row, poses for a group photo with other West African leaders, prior to the start of the ECOWAS meeting, in Abuja, Nigeria, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Heads of state across West Africa were met on Saturday to discuss the region's existential challenges with a renewed plea on junta-led nations to rescind their decision to quit the regional bloc and a plan to review of sanctions it imposed to reverse the coup in Niger. (AP Photo/Gbemiga Olamikan)
Omar Touray, president of the ECOWAS Commission, left, Ghana's President, Nana Akufo Addo, center and Nigeria Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar pose for a photo, prior to the start of the ECOWAS meeting, in Abuja, Nigeria, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Heads of state across West Africa were meeting on Saturday to discuss the region's existential challenges with a renewed plea on junta-led nations to rescind their decision to quit the regional bloc and a plan to review of sanctions it imposed to reverse the coup in Niger. (AP Photo/Gbemiga Olamikan)
FILE - The defense chiefs from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries excluding Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea and Niger, gather for their extraordinary meeting in Accra, Ghana, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, to discuss the situation in Niger. Heads of state across West Africa will meet on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024 to discuss the region’s existential challenges particularly the withdrawal of three junta-led nations from the top regional bloc as well as sanctions imposed to reverse the coup in Niger. The West Africa bloc of ECOWAS summit to hold in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, comes at a critical time when the 49-year-old bloc’s future is threatened. (AP Photo/Richard Eshun Nanaresh, File)