President Bola Tinubu may hold a second meeting with leaders of the economic community of West African states in the coming days as the one-week ultimatum issued to the military junta in Niger Republic ended Sunday midnight.
A presidential aide said Tinubu, who is the chairman of ECOWAS authority of heads of state and government, might convene another meeting to take a final decision on the resolutions reached at the June 30 meeting of the regional body in Abuja.
On the condition of anonymity, a source close to the matter said the heads of government would reconvene to decide on the next option. But no date has been fixed for the meeting where a final decision would be made on how to deal with the situation in Niger.
ECOWAS had last week issued a seven-day ultimatum to the military junta in the Niger Republic led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, to restore ousted President Muhammed Bazoum to office.
Speaking after the extraordinary session presided over by Tinubu in Abuja, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, said all Chiefs of Defence Staff of the member states would proceed for an emergency meeting to strategize on effective ways to implement a possible military operation to restore Bazoum to office.
After concluding their meeting on Friday, the Defence Chiefs finalized an intervention plan and urged their militaries to prepare for a possible military intervention in Niger.
A day earlier, Tinubu dispatched a three-man delegation to Niger Republic with a mandate to expeditiously resolve the current political impasse in the country.
On Saturday, the Nigerian Senate advised the President to further explore dialogue options other than the use of force to restore democracy in Niger, noting the “existing cordial relationship between Nigeriens and Nigerians.”
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