3rd August, 2023
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has commended Nigeria and the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) over their response so far to take over of government in Niger Republic by the military.
However, Atiku who is the presidential candidate of PDP in the 2023 election warned ECOWAS countries not to attempt to use the military to take out the Niger Republic coupist.
President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger Republic was overthrown on July 26 by his own guard.
However, ECOWAS had last weekend gave the coupists seven days to vacate power or risk being forced out through military intervention.
In a tweet on Thursday evening, Atiku said the world expects Nigeria to take up leadership in ensuring that the crisis of political leadership in the Republic of Niger is not just curtailed but also in ensuring the restoration of democratic governance in that country.
“While the expectations that fall on Nigeria as the sub-regional leader is not a quick fix, it must be expressed that the role taken so far by the Economic Community of West African States has been commendable,” Atiku added.
He ,however, warned the “military insurrectionists” in Niger that time is running out of them.
“While the world expects Nigeria to take a leading role in this process of peaceful conflict resolution, it must be clear to the military insurrectionists in the Republic of Niger that the world cannot afford to wait for too long before this crisis is resolved reasonably.
“This is undoubtedly a challenging time for the West African region. However, any actions taken towards the prompt resolution of the crisis in the Republic of Niger must prioritize democracy as the ultimate victor,” Atiku maintained.
He said the crisis requires diplomatic engagements and not use of force of the military.
“The military intervention in the Republic of Niger has created tension across the West Africa sub-region, and it is a development that has caused international attention to that neighbouring country of ours,” he said.
“The putsch is even more worrisome because the number of states that have witnessed military intervention in the last three years in the subregion is increasing.”