Senators’ discussion of President Bola Tinubu’s request to send troops to the Niger Republic to enforce the Economic Community of West African States’ Resolution ordering the junta that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum to restore him to power or face military action reportedly caused tempers to flare on Saturday.According to reports, senators disagreed on whether to approve the request or reject it.
According to reports, senators disagreed on whether to approve the request or reject it.
Many senators from the North, it was learned, opposed the proposal because they felt that it would disturb the tranquility in their region.
Senators from seven northern states, including Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Jigawa, Yobe, and Borno, which share a border with the Niger Republic, angrily opposed the proposal, according to a source who was present during the senators’ closed-door negotiations.
Senators from seven northern states, including Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Jigawa, Yobe, and Borno, which share a border with the Niger Republic, angrily opposed the proposal, according to a source who was present during the senators’ closed-door negotiations.According to the insider, who requested anonymity, “It was a raucous discussion with worry over the repercussions of the war, should it be permitted to begin.The proposed force deployment to Niger is not supported by senators from the North.
Some of us did not like the coup, particularly considering the implications it had for the West African region. Because we as a nation have been good to the coup plotters, we were also not pleased with the way they were acting in public.
Keep in mind the train line that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration started in the nation and the electricity we are giving them.We were upset by the new military ruler’s and his men’s disrespectful remarks toward Nigeria and other West African nations.”We all discussed the situation in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Libya, which may affect the seven northern states and the entire country if military force is used.”
After that, the Senate gave Tinubu, the President of ECOWAS and also a member of the Senate, advice to look into political and diplomatic options for handling the coup in the Niger Republic.The Senate also clarified that the President did not ask the higher legislative house to endorse that the “country should go to war” in a resolution that was read by Akpabio following a two-hour closed-door meeting.
In a letter to the Senate on Friday, Tinubu asked for their support in sending military soldiers to the Niger Republic.In addition, he asked the legislature’s support for cutting off the neighboring nation’s electrical supplies.Last Sunday, Tinubu met with a few other ECOWAS leaders to explore the best approaches to reestablish democracy in Niger.The leaders of the West African regional bloc gathered to talk about imposing penalties on the soldiers that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, 2023.
To resolve the political impasse in the Niger Republic, the Senate, in its resolutions on Saturday, “Called on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who is also the chairman of ECOWAS, to further encourage other leaders of ECOWAS to strengthen political and diplomatic options and other means.”The National Assembly urged ECOWAS, led by President Tinubu, to settle the political situation in Niger and restore democratic rule there as soon as possible.