Posted by In an effort to end the political crisis in Niger Republic, the country’s military junta has agreed to meet with representatives from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The Nigerian Intervention Team, which includes religious authorities from different Islamic traditions, made the announcement on Sunday.
ECOWAS’s demand that former President Bazoum be reinstated was discussed at length during the team’s weekend meeting with coup leader General Abdourahmane Tchiani.
ThisDay quotes Bala Lau as saying, “We are in Niger on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, who approved our request to intervene.” Lau’s statement was signed on Sunday.
So, he explained to General Tchiani that the purpose of his trip to Niger was to have an open discourse in an effort to persuade him and the other military officials behind the coup to take the path of peace rather than violence in order to end the issue.
General Tchiani, who had greeted the team with open arms, expressed his appreciation for their assistance.
He stated, “We were open to exploring diplomatic and peaceful means of settling the situation. It hurt that the ECOWAS leaders didn’t listen to our side of the story before giving us the boot.
He went on to say that the coup’s intentions were good and that they acted quickly to prevent a threat that would have hit Nigeria as well as the Niger Republic.
The coup commander admitted that his group had been unhappy about the ECOWAS ultimatum and had not paid enough attention to the delegation dispatched by President Tinubu.