President Bola Tinubu as the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government has sent a delegation led by former military Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar to Niger Republic to end the crisis in the neighbouring country.
This was disclosed in a press release by the presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, on Thursday.
He said “The action was in line with the resolution reached at the end of the extraordinary summit of the ECOWAS held last weekend in Abuja.”
Following the coup that toppled the government of President Mohamed Bazoum in Niger, last week, the ECOWAS gave the military rulers headed by General Abdourahmane Tchiani a one-week ultimatum to return the country to democratic government.
Nigeria also recently cut the transmission of electricity supply to the neighbouring West African nation, as a part of the measures to use force, a move greeted with mixed reactions.
But, the recent statement issued by the Presidency, said, “The Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has dispatched a delegation to Niger Republic with a mandate to expeditiously resolve the current political impasse in the country.
“The action was in line with the resolution reached at the end of the extraordinary summit of the ECOWAS held last weekend in Abuja.
“The delegation, headed by former Nigerian Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd), left for Niamey on Thursday following a briefing by President Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.
“The former Nigerian Head of State is joined in the delegation by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III and the President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. Omar Alieu Touray.”
In a similar assignment to restore democratic order, the statement read, “The President has also sent a separate delegation led by Ambassador Babagana Kingibe to engage with the leaders of Libya and Algeria on the Niger crisis.”
Briefing the two delegations, Tinubu charged them to engage all stakeholders robustly with a view to doing whatever it takes to ensure a conclusive and amicable resolution of the situation in Niger for the purposes of African peace and development rather than a move to adopt the geopolitical positions of other nations.
“We don’t want to hold briefs for anybody. Our concern is democracy and the peace of the region,” the President said.
Speaking after the meeting, General Abdulsalami Abubakar said the delegation would meet the coup leaders in Niger to present the demands of the ECOWAS leadership.
Both leaders of the two missions expressed optimism on the outcome of the assignments.
