President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has met with some critical stakeholders in the ECOWAS intervention in the crisis in Niger Republic.
The meeting, it was reliably learned was part of efforts to see a way of setting the political crisis after the military overthrew the democratically elected President.
President Tinubu is Chairman of the Authority of the Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Present during the meeting include the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Touray; leader of the ECOWAS delegation to Niger Republic’s military junta, General Abdulsalami Abubakar and the National Security Adviser, NSA, to the President, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
Although the agenda of the meeting was not made public, it was gathered that the reason would revolve round averting armed conflict over the Niger Republic crisis.
In the meantime, the African Union has announced the suspension of Niger from all of its institutions and activities following last month’s coup, until the effective restoration of constitutional order.”
In a communique issued on Tuesday, the bloc noted that its decision to suspend Niger followed the failure of the military junta to hand over power to the democratically elected President, Mohammed Bazoum.
It read: “The AU decides, in line with the relevant AU instruments, in particular, the AU Constitutive Act, the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, to immediately suspend the participation of the Republic of Niger from all activities of the AU and its Organs and institutions until the effective restoration of constitutional order in the country.
“The AU in this regard, calls upon all Member States of the AU and the international community including bilateral and multilateral partners, at large to reject this unconstitutional change of government and to refrain from any action likely to grant legitimacy to the illegal regime in Niger.”
