The ECOWAS Parliament has restated its position on diplomatic solution to the political crisis in Niger Republic.
The West African bloc’s parliament reiterated this position when its Adhoc committee on Niger impasse held a consultative meeting with president of ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, at the secretariat of the regional bloc in Abuja.
Speaking with the Parliament’s media crew after the meeting, a member of the Nigerian Delegation to ECOWAS Parliament and senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, revealed that the position of the Parliament on the Niger Republic stalemate remains unchanged.
Ndume explained that their stand is informed by the grave implications of a military intervention in Niger, insisting there’s no alternative to diplomatic solution.
The meeting is one of ECOWAS diplomatic approaches to amicably resolving the Niger dilemma.
August 12, 2023, the Parliament held a virtual meeting on the situation in Niger Republic, where most of its members opted for a diplomatic solution as against the decision of the Authority of heads of State, who have since settled for the use of force, to which an ECOWAS standby force has been activated.
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In retrospect, military chiefs from across the region had converged on Accra, Ghana to fine-tune preparations for the proposed military action in Niger.
At the Accra meeting of military chiefs on Thursday, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, told journalists that though ECOWAS had perfected plans for the military operation in Niger republic, its doors are still wide open to diplomatic solution should the junta changed their minds.
(EDITOR: TIENABESO BIBIYE)
