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From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), will on Thursday, August 10, 2023, hold an extraordinary summit on the political situation in the Republic of Niger.
The summit billed to hold in Abuja, is sequel to an earlier summit held on July 30, 2023, in which the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government gave a seven-day ultimatum to the military junta in Niger, under threat of the possible use of force, for the immediate release of President Bazoum and the reinstatement of his government.
The ECOWAS Commission, in a statement issued in Abuja and made available to Daily Sun, said: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States has convened another Extraordinary Summit of the Authority on the political situation in the Republic of Niger.
“The Summit will hold in Abuja, on Thursday, August 10, 2023.”
It would be recalled that Mohamed Bazoum, the 10th President and first Arab President of the Republic of Niger, was overthrown on July 26, 2023, by members of the Presidential Guard and the armed forces led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani.
Following the tumultuous situation in Niger, the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, convened an extraordinary summit in Abuja on July 30, 2023, to deliberate on the developments in Niger.
At the end of the summit, the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, amongst others, demanded that the military junta vacate office within seven days.
Also during the week, President Tinubu dispatched a former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar and the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar 111, to Niger as mediators.
But on Friday, reports had it that the military junta said it has severed ties with the United States, France and Nigeria.
In like manner, the military junta reportedly recalled the Nigerien Ambassador to Nigeria, and directed the Nigerian Ambassador to Niger to leave the country.
Prior to the development, the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, also at the Extraordinary Summit on 30th July, 2023, mandated a meeting of the Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CCDS) of ECOWAS, which took place last week in Abuja.
Briefing the Diplomatic Corps last week in Abuja, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Adamu Ibrahim Lamuwa, said President Tinubu, in his position as the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, has led the organization in efforts aimed at arriving at an agreeable resolution to the crisis.
“He is committed, along with other ECOWAS leaders, to restoring peace and stability to Nigeriens, as well as the right to choose their leaders through transparent and fair elections,” Lamuwa said.
Lamuwa further said the Authority welcomed the immediate condemnation, by the international community, of the coup in Niger and saw it as a huge testimony to the preference for democracy and constitutional rule, vis-a-vis any other form of governance.
“Consequently, Nigeria and indeed, ECOWAS, calls upon the international community to remain resolute on this stance and to continue to show solidarity to ECOWAS in affirming the superiority of democratic and constitutional rule over dictatorship,” Lamuwa added.
