No plans to invade Niger Republic –ECOWAS

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Friday said it has no plan to invade Niger Republic in the aftermath of a coup by military junta.

The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray, at a news conference in Abuja, said  for the avoidance of doubt, “let me state unequivocally that ECOWAS has neither declared war on the people of Niger nor is there a plan, as it is being purported, to ‘invade’ the country.”

Touray said the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government had only activated a full-scale application of sanctions which included the use of legitimate force to restore constitutional order.

He also reiterated that fifth columnists had unfortunately been misrepresenting ECOWAS’ decisions and actions, deriding regional authorities as being tele-guided by foreign powers with nefarious intentions.

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“Let me remind everyone that ECOWAS is a community of rules and regulations, norms, and values. These principles, which have been accumulated over the 48 years of its existence, and they underpin its actions.

“We are therefore not under the dictate of any extra-regional power or interests. Our interest is rather the protection of the rights of our people with the objective of building a rules-based community and fostering peace and prosperity for all in our region,” he stated.

Touray added that while ECOWAS was determined to bend over backward to accommodate diplomatic efforts, it was not unaware of the true intentions of some of the members of the Niger junta.

He said at first, they snubbed its diplomatic efforts but recently began to show signs of being amenable, only for them to take a dangerous path by putting in place a government, and an unacceptable transition timeline.

Touray stated that the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government was to work for the peaceful restoration of civilian rule in the Niger Republic without any delay and to use all the instruments at the disposal of ECOWAS towards the attainment of this goal.