President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has written to the Senate seeking its support for military intervention against the military junta in the Niger Republic.
Tinubu in his letter to the Senate called for “Military buildup and deployment of personnel for military intervention to enforce compliance of the military junta in Niger should they remain recalcitrant.”
He also sought the backing of the legislature on the cutting off of electricity to the country.
Tinubu who is also the Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of State and Government, earlier dispatched a delegation to Niger Republic with a mandate to with speed and efficiency resolve the current political impasse in the country.
The action was in line with the resolution reached at the end of the extraordinary summit of the ECOWAS held last weekend in Abuja.
However, the General Abdourahmane Tchiani-led military junta in the Republic of Niger will now recall the Nigerien Ambassador to Nigeria after failing to come to terms with the delegation of ECOWAS, on the return of democracy in Niger.
The junta is also planning to recall Nigerien Ambassadors to Togo, the United States, and France, as it pushes to evict French and US troops in the country, while declaring an end to all Memorandum of Understanding between France and the Republic of Niger.
In reaction to the move by Niger Junta, France rejected the decision to scrap bilateral military pacts, saying the West African country’s “legitimate” leadership alone was entitled to do so.
“The legal framework of France’s defense agreement with Niger is based on accords that were signed with the legitimate Nigerien authorities,” the foreign ministry said after the junta in Niamey said it was cancelling military cooperation agreements with Paris.
The “delegation from the ECOWAS arrived in Niamey, with the aim of establishing a dialogue with the junta in order to obtain the return to constitutional order. The first contacts on site were positive.” According to a report on Friday by Radio France International.
“The ongoing negotiation has failed. The junta has declared that it’ll recall Niger’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Togo, France, and the US.”
“The junta has just announced that it’ll evict French and US troops in Niger Republic, noting that all MoU agreements between France and Niger has ended,” another source privy to the development noted.
