Niger junta gives fresh update on transition after meeting ECOWAS delegation
According to Togo’s Foreign Minister, Robert Dussey, Niger’s military chiefs have agreed on a plan to restore democratic governance that would be presented to the regional group ECOWAS for approval.
At a summit in Nigeria on Sunday, ECOWAS, West Africa’s main economic and political organisation, voted to form a committee of leaders from Togo, Sierra Leone, and Benin to engage the Niger junta to agree on a “short transition roadmap.”
After the meeting in Abuja, Dussey traveled to Niger to engage with the junta on behalf of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which is pushing for a rapid restoration to constitutional order following a military coup in July.
He explained that “We had an enriching work session with the prime minister and the minister of foreign affairs of Niger. We worked and agreed on the content and timing of the transition,” Dussey said on Niger State television.
“We are going to present this to the heads of states who are mediators and the ECOWAS Commission in the hope that in January, the timeline expected by ECOWAS will be known,” he said, standing next to his Nigerien counterpart.
No specific timeframe was given by the junta.
The Ecowas bloc had demanded the release of President Mohamed Bazoum, the deposed leader of Niger and said it would progressively ease sanctions on Niger based on the outcome of those talks.
General Abdourahamane Tiani led Niger’s ruling military council in deposing President Bazoum, the ninth such coup in West and Central Africa since 2020. The move has attracted sanctions from the ECOWAS and other members of the international community.
