ECOWAS Commission Reverses Unlawful Circular ECW/Memo/DC/2025-14/ak After Community Court Challenge by the Centre for Community Law

 
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, has reversed his controversial Circular ECW/Memo/DC/2025-14/ak by which the President of the Commission unilaterally decided to retain all (AES) permanent staff below grades P5 without recourse to the clear provisions of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty and the Staff Regulations or even the clear Directives of the Council of Ministers.
On the 29^th of January 2025, following the expiration of their one year withdrawal notice, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, withdrew from ECOWAS. The consequence of such withdrawal for members of staff from the withdrawing States is specifically provided for in article 50 of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Staff Regulations (Revised 2021).
The Regulations provide for automatic separation of any staff of the nationality of a withdrawn State from ECOWAS upon its withdrawal (Article 50(h)).
Thus:
“As a result of the withdrawal of a staff’s member State from ECOWAS. The Staff Member affected should also lose his/her job on the official date of the withdrawal.” Article 51(1)(b)(viii)
And having regards to Article 53(d), all staff members of ECOWAS from the three exited States ought to have been separated from ECOWAS within not more than a year from 29 January 2025.
This is to give room for the notice requirement of Article 53(d), which provides that “When the Staff Member’s country is no longer a member of ECOWAS, the Staff Member affected should also lose his/her job after a grace period of between six (6) to one (1) year to prepare for his/her exit.”
Nevertheless, the President of the Commission unilaterally issued Circular ECW/Memo/DC/2025-14/ak to retain certain category of staff of his chosen without regards to the prevailing Rules.
This directive, contained in Circular ECW/Memo/DC/2025-14/ak, has now been reversed in the 10^th of October 2025 Circular (Ref: ECW/PEC/MEMO/06/KYE) issued by the President of the Commission. The Circular directed all ECOWAS institutions to issue 6 months termination letters to all permanent staff on P4 and below, who are not citizens of ECOWAS Member States.
The reversal came in the wake of Suit No. ECW/CCJ/APP/47/25, filed on 22 September 2025, in which Aguele and Centre for Community Law (CfCL) sued the ECOWAS Council of Ministers and the President of the Commission over the legality of Circular ECW/Memo/DC/2025-14/ak, which retained staff from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger — States that had withdrawn from ECOWAS to form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
The applicants argued that the Commission acted ultra vires by retaining AES nationals in breach of Articles 18(5), 10(3)(f), and 92 of the Revised ECOWAS Treaty (1993) and relevant Staff Regulations (2021). They sought multiple declarations, including that the Circular is unlawful, null and void, and that the actions of the ECOWAS Commission violated the rights of ECOWAS citizens and the rule of law.
The Community Court has given the Respondents 30 days to enter their defence.
Legal analysts say the swift reversal of the memo signals an acknowledgment of its lack of legal basis and a potential shift toward stronger institutional compliance with ECOWAS legal instruments.
The Commission’s reversal of the circular (howbeit imperfect) is therefore a victory for legal accountability and civil society oversight within the ECOWAS framework. It also underscores the growing role of regional courts and advocacy organizations like CfCL in shaping institutional reform and defending community rights.
Insofar as the notice directed to be given by Circular (Ref: ECW/PEC/MEMO/06/KYE) exceeds the period envisaged by Article 53(d) of the Staff Regulations, its legality remains to be demonstrated. This is because, to all intent and purposes, Article 53(d) clearly prescribes the commencement date (January 29, 2025) of the notice required. Accordingly, the Centre maintains the view that any notice that exceeds 28 January 2026 is ultra vires, null and void and of no effect whatever. ECOWAS Commission must demonstrate that it has the capacity and the will to guide the Authority and Council of Ministers and guide them properly in all matters and at all times!
 
© Centre for Community Law