President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was elected Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS in 2023.
The Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, and Nigeria President Bola Tinubu has dispatched a delegation to Niger Republic with a mandate to expeditiously resolve the current political impasse in the country.
In a statement, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Ajuri Ngelale said the action was in line with the resolutions reached at the end of the extraordinary summit of the ECOWAS, held in Abuja on Sunday.
The delegation, headed by former Nigerian Head of State, retired General Abdulsalami Abubakar, on Thursday left for Niamey, following a briefing by President Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.
Joined in the delegation are the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III and the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Alhaji Omar Alieu Touray.
President Tinubu also sent a separate delegation led by Ambassador Babagana Kingibe to engage with the leaders of Libya and Algeria on the Niger crisis.
Briefing the two delegations, President Tinubu charged them to engage all stakeholders robustly with a view to doing whatever it will take to ensure a conclusive and amicable resolution of the situation in Niger for the purposes of peace and development in Africa, 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.
After the meeting, General Abdulsalami 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.
Bello Wakili
