President Bola Tinubu has written to the Nigerian Senate to inform it of the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) recommended military action and other sanctions against the military Junta who recently seized power in the Niger Republic.
Since soldiers ousted the democratically elected president of Niger on July 26, officials of the West African regional grouping led by Tinubu have been in talks, particularly over sanctions against the coup plotters.
The junta, on the other hand, has remained steadfast. Even Tinubu’s delegation yesterday was unable to de-escalate the issue.
Tinubu’s letter to the Senate was read on the floor of the Upper Chamber by the Senate President, Sen. Godswill Akpabio.
The letter reads:
“Political situation in Niger.
“Following the unfortunate political situation in the Niger Republic, culminating in the overthrow of its President, ECOWAS, under my leadership, condemned the coup in its entirety and resolved to seek the return of the democratically elected government.
“In a bid to restore peace, ECOWAS convened a meeting and came out with a communiqué:
“Closure and monitoring of all land borders with the Niger Republic and reactivating the border drilling exercise
“Cutting off electricity supply to the Niger Republic; mobilising international support for the implementation of the provisions of the ECOWAS communique.
“Preventing the operation of commercial and special flights into and from the Niger Republic; blockade of goods in transit to Niger, especially from Lagos and eastern seaports.
“Embarking on sensitization of Nigerians and Nigeriens on the imperative of these actions, particularly via social media
“Military build-up and deployment of personnel for military intervention to enforce compliance of the military junta in Niger should they remain recalcitrant.”
