Secretary of States to the United States Government Antony Blinken has commended the President Bola Tinubu-led Economic Community for West Africa States ECOWAS for the effort that the bloc has put into restoring Niger to democratic rule.
Commending the President Bola Tinubu-led ECOWAS in a tweet on Monday, Mr. Blinken disclosed that he spoke with President Tinubu on Monday and commended the leadership of ECOWAS for its shared effort towards restoring constitutional order in Niger.
“Spoke to Nigerian President Tinubu to commend his leadership of the Economic Community of West African States and discussed shared efforts to restore constitutional order in Niger,” Mr Blinken wrote in a tweet on Monday.
His comment comes just as the Niger military junta finally agrees to meet and negotiate with a delegation of ECOWAS to discuss a possible transition to democratic rule.
News About Nigeria recalls that the democratic administration led by Mohamed Bazoum was deposed by a coup in July. Following the coup, the military junta created a cabinet of 21 men to govern the state’s affairs.
However, after the Niger junta-led government initially rebuffed diplomatic efforts to negotiate a viable transition to democratic administration, ECOWAS seriously considered employing military force to return Niger to democratic governance. In an attempt to sway the Niger military administration, the bloc applied sanctions, including Nigeria cutting off electrical supplies to its neighbour.
Following the Niger junta’s reluctance to enter into negotiations, ECOWAS placed its soldiers on alert for a possible invasion of Niger. However, many notable Nigerians, have continued to call on the bloc to shun the use of military might and explore diplomatic measures as it looks to return the country to democratic rule
