The Chairman of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria has convened another Extraordinary Summit of the Authority on the political situation in the Republic of Niger.
A statement issued today by the Directorate of Communication from the Abuja Headquarters of the ECOWAS Commission indicated that “the Summit will hold in Abuja on Thursday, August 10, 2023”.
“The ECOWAS Leaders will be considering and discussing the political situation and recent developments in Niger during the Summit”, the terse statement added.
It will be recalled the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government held a meeting on Sunday, July 30, and announced some sanctions to force the Nigerien military to reinstate ousted President Muhammed Bozoum into office.
It has also issued a seven-day ultimatum to the military in the Niger Republic to restore constitutional order in the country.
At that July 30 meeting, while recognizing Bazoum as the legitimate President of the landlocked state, the bloc imposed land and border closures, suspending all commercial flights between Niger and ECOWAS member states.
Announcing the decision, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, said all Chiefs of Defense Staff of the member states will proceed for an emergency meeting to strategize on effective ways to implement a possible military operation to restore Bazoum to office.
He said the ECOWAS will “take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger.”Such measures may include the use of force.
Further to the effort to restore normalcy to the Republic, the Chiefs of Defense Staff of ECOWAS met in Abuja as directed by the Authority of Heads of States and Governments of ECOWAS to map out strategies on the way forward should the Coupists remain recalcitrant.
From all indications, the new Military leader in Niger Republic, General Abdourahamane Tchiani is receiving support of solidarity from the Malian and Burkina Faso leaders who have threatened to join forces to ward off any threat from the ECOWAS authorities.
