In a brief statement dated August 8, 2023, ECOWAS “takes note” of the refusal of the junta in Niamey to receive envoys from the AU-ECOWAS-UN troika. The institution reaffirms its determination to ensure a return to constitutional order.
In a brief statement, ECOWAS “takes note” of the junta in Niamey’s refusal to receive envoys from the AU-ECOWAS-UN troika. In order to ensure the return to constitutional order, the sub-regional organization will continue “to take all necessary measures,” the statement further reads.
New West African summit on Thursday The military regime resulting from a coup in Niger is holding its ground on the eve of the summit of West African countries scheduled for Thursday in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria led by Bola Tinubu, the current ECOWAS president. Niamey seems unaffected by negotiation offers from West Africa and the United States to avoid military intervention to restore constitutional order, which remains an option.
However, the President of Nigeria believes that diplomacy is the “best way” to resolve the crisis, although he has not ruled out a military intervention in Niger, according to his spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale. The postponement of the West African delegation’s visit adds to another sign of defiance from the new leaders of Niger – the appointment on Monday evening of a civilian Prime Minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, seen as the first step towards forming a transitional government.
