Leaders across West Africa will hold an emergency meeting in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city on Sunday, July 30, 2023, under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, over the recent coup in Niger.
The meeting is at the bidding of Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.
It is also coming after a military coup in the Republic of Niger saw an end to the leadership of President Mohammed Bazoum.
President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Dele Alake, disclosed this in a statement he signed on Friday, July 29, 2023, titled ‘President Tinubu hosts ECOWAS special meeting on Niger.’
ECOWAS leaders are expected to discuss possible sanctions on the coup plotters.
President Tinubu had on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, condemned the current political situation in Niger. He assured that ECOWAS and the international community would do everything to defend democracy and see that democratic governance continues to take firm root in the sub-region.
He affirmed that the regional bloc would deploy all necessary means to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger.
The ECOWAS Chairman had dispatched a strong delegation led by the President Patrice Talon of Benin Republic to talk with all the parties to restore order.
The United States Vice President, Harris Kamala and the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, in separate telephone calls to President Tinubu, affirmed the support of the United States and United Nations for the position taken by ECOWAS and the Nigerian leader to restore constitutional order in Niger.
Former President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari has also expressed shock at the coup in Niger, raising concerns over Bazoum’s fate.
