The Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Tinubu, has dispatched a three-man delegation to Niger Republic with a mandate to expeditiously resolve the current political impasse in the country.
The development emerged just as the Defence Headquarters yesterday, said defence chiefs of ECOWAS were yet to receive any battle order to engage in Niger Republic in furtherance of the decision of the regional bloc, ECOWAS, to deploy military assets to dislodge the coupists in that country.
However, former vice president and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), have advised the African Union (AU) and ECOWAS against the use of force in restoring democratic governance in Niger Republic.The three-man delegation dispatched by Tinubu, according to a statement issued yesterday, by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, was in line with the resolution reached at the end of the extraordinary summit of the ECOWAS held on Sunday in Abuja.
On July 26, Muhammadou Bazoum, the elected president of Niger was over thrown in a military coup d’etat led by Brigadier General Abdoulrahame Tchiani.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.
The president also sent a separate delegation led by Amb. 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 brief for anybody. Our concern is democracy and the peace of the region,” the president said.Speaking after the meeting, General 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.
Speaking with newsmen before departing State House for Niamey, former Head of State, General Abubakar, disclosed that the task before his team was to express the displeasure of the ECOWAS leaders with the developments in Niger to those who hijacked power in the country.He said: “We have just been give our marching orders to go to Niger and convey the feelings of our heads of state in the region that they are not happy with what happened. And they gave them an ultimatum that the coupists should desist from what they are doing and give back power to an elected President and again, to make sure that this message is sent loud and clear to them.
That’s what we are here for. So far, we are going there to convey this message to them and hear their response and report back what they have said”.Also speaking, Kingibe said talking with Libya and Algeria, two countries bordering Niger to the North, would stimulate the solidarity required for peaceful talks.According to him: “Of course, this kind of situation requires solidarity. It requires coordination with all parties that are relevant to the situation.“In that regard, Libya and Algeria are also very important neighbours of Niger. So, my mission is to go there with a message from President Tinubu. To brief them on the ECOWAS position and solicit solidarity and cooperation.”
He expressed optimism that the talks would avert a possible military intervention saying, “we hope to find a diplomatic solution. Nobody wants to go to war, especially with neighbourly, brotherly people across the border with whom we share a common language, culture and religion.”
Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters yesterday disclosed that defence chiefs of ECOWAS were yet to receive any battle order to engage in Niger Republic.The clarification came following reports that the Nigerian military had received orders to mobilise troops and other naval assets for the planned Niger operation.A statement signed by the Acting Director, Defence Information (DDI), Brig Gen Tukur Gusau, stated that the Armed Forces of Nigeria cannot proceed on any operation in any of the member states of ECOWAS without the mandate of the Authority of Heads of States and Government.“The attention of the Armed Forces of Nigeria has been drawn to an online report stating that the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) is assembling its forces for military action in Republic of Niger.
