The Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has sent a delegation to the Niger Republic with a mandate to expeditiously resolve the current political impasse in the country.
The action was in tune with the resolution reached at the end of the extraordinary summit of the ECOWAS held last weekend in Abuja.
According to a statement by the president’s spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, the delegation, headed by former Nigerian Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd), left for Niamey on Thursday following a briefing by President Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.
The former Nigerian Head of State is joined in the delegation by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, and the President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. Omar Alieu Touray.
The President has 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 urged them to engage all parties vigorously in order to ensure a successful and amicable resolution of the Niger situation for the benefit of African peace and development rather than a move to adopt the geopolitical positions of other countries.
“We don’t want to hold a brief for anybody. Our concern is democracy and the peace of the region,” the President said.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd) 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 about the outcome of the assignments.
