The West African military chiefs of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are set to meet on Saturday over the crisis in Niger Republic.
This follows after an ECOWAS summit held in Abuja on Thursday.
While speaking at the Summit on Thursday, the Chairman of ECOWAS and President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, insisted that “no option is taken off the tables including the use of force as the last resort.”
While, also, declaring the resolution of ECOWAS in Abuja, The President of ECOWAS, Omar Alieu Touray states that “deployment of the ECOWAS stand-by force to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger.”
The regional bloc has also ordered the deployment of standby forces in a bid to intervene in the Niger crisis if it boils down to it.
“The committee of the Chief of Defence Staff to activate the ECOWAS standby force with all its elements immediately,” the resolution reached.
President Tinubu assured that military intervention will come into play only after the body has engaged in meaningful dialogue with the Coup plotters in a bid to peacefully resolve the crisis and such talks prove unsuccessful.
“Regrettably, the seven-day ultimatum we issued during the first summit has not yielded the desired outcome.
“We must engage all parties involved, including the coup leaders, in earnest discussions to convince them to relinquish power and reinstate President Bazoum.
“It is our duty to exhaust all avenues of engagement to ensure a swift return to constitutional governance in Niger,” President Tinubu said.
In a similar vein, ECOWAS has reached out to the African Union (AU), as well as other nations and institutions to back its resolution.
