President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has communicated to the Senate that the borders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are now closed to Niger Republic due to the military’s assumption of power in the country.
Tinubu has also apprised the Senate of the cessation of electricity supply to Niger and has indicated that additional sanctions are in the process.
The letter from Tinubu, which was read during a plenary session by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, emphasized that the ECOWAS member states are steadfast in their demand for the restoration of power to the democratically elected leaders of Niger.
In an unfortunate turn of events on July 26, the military junta ousted the democratically elected President, Mohamed Bazoum, and seized control of the country. The individuals responsible were members of his own guard.
President Tinubu, who also holds the position of Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States, convened a meeting with fellow ECOWAS leaders on July 30th. The aim was to deliberate on appropriate measures to reinstate democratic governance in Niger.
During this gathering, the leaders of the West African regional bloc engaged in discussions concerning the imposition of sanctions on the military officials responsible for toppling Bazoum’s administration. The objective is to compel these officers to relinquish power and reinstate the ousted President.
The President’s letter read, “Political situation in Niger. Following the unfortunate political situation in Niger Republic culminating in the overthrow of its President, ECOWAS under my leadership condemned the coup in its entirety and resolved to seek the return of the democratically elected Government in a bid to restore peace, ECOWAS convened a meeting and came out with a communique.
“Closure and monitoring of all land borders with the Niger Republic and reactivation of the border drilling exercise.
“Cutting off Electricity supply to the Niger Republic, mobilising international support for the implementation of the provisions of the ECOWAS communique.
“Mobilizing international support for the implementation of the provisions of the ECOWAS communique.
“Preventing the operation of commercial and special flights into and from Niger Republic;
“Blockade of goods in transit to Niger especially from Lagos and eastern seaports.
“Embarking on sensitization of Nigerians and Nigerians on the imperative of these actions particularly via social media.
“Military build up and deployment of personnel for military intervention to enforce compliance of the military junta in Niger should they remain recalcitrant.
