President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has frowned at the oup attempt in Niger Republic.
The chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), said the body will not tolerate acts that undermine democracy in the region.
Recall that there was heavy military presence in the presidential palace in Niamey, Niger’s capital city, on Wednesday morning.
Niger’s President, Mohamed Bazoum was said to be held hostage by soldiers and was denied access to his office and residence — likely signs of a possible coup d’état.
According to Tinubu, the leadership of the ECOWAS region will not tolerate any situation that incapacitates the democratically-elected government of Niger.
“The ECOWAS leadership will not accept any action that impedes the smooth functioning of legitimate authority in Niger or any part of West Africa.
“I wish to say that we are closely monitoring the situation and developments in Niger and we will do everything within our powers to ensure democracy is firmly planted, nurtured, well rooted and thrives in our region,” Tinubu said in a terse statement.
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Tinubu noted that he was in close communication with other leaders in the region, and vowed to protect “our hard-earned democracy in line with the universally acceptable principle of constitutionalism.”
“As the chairperson of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, I state without equivocation that Nigeria stands firmly with the elected government in Niger and equally conveys the absolute resolve of leaders in our sub-region that we shall not waiver or flinch on our stand to defend and preserve constitutional order,” he added.
Information Nigeria understands that Niger is one of the most unstable nations in the world, experiencing four coups since independence from France in 1960.
Following a thwarted coup attempt in March 2021, days before Bazoum was due to be sworn in, former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari had also expressed displeasure with the shaky governance structure in Niger.
