As part of the resolution of the crisis in Niger, ECOWAS dispatched a delegation to Niamey on Thursday evening. This visit, which was supposed to last for more than 24 hours, ended up lasting only a few hours.
Sent to Niamey to negotiate with the coup leaders, the ECOWAS emissaries didn’t even have time to leave the airport before they were dismissed by the military. According to RFI reports, the delegation was informed upon arrival that their meeting with General Tiani and Mohamed Bazoum had been canceled.
Faced with this fait accompli, the team led by former Nigerian President Abdulsalami Abubakar and the Sultan of Sokoto had no choice but to leave Niamey promptly. They cut short their stay as the purpose of their trip had become futile.
This ECOWAS delegation, officially meant to initiate talks with the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland (CNSP), had come to negotiate a return to constitutional order. Before departing for Niamey on Thursday evening, the delegation received firm instructions from President Bola Tinubu to seek an amicable agreement.
With only a few days left until the expiration of the ultimatum given to the coup leaders, this misadventure of the emissaries is a setback for ECOWAS, which had promised to use all means for the resolution of the crisis.
