Leaders from West Africa convened in Abuja on Sunday, December 10, to discuss issues concerning their region, which is grappling with an intensifying political crisis, escalating dangers from jihadists wreaking havoc in the Sahel, and criticism of its leadership in certain member nations.
Niger’s political crisis was on top of the agenda. In order to decide on steps towards a quick transition and other requirements for lifting sanctions, a commission was established to consult with the country’s ruling CNSP.
“The authority decides to set up a committee of heads of state made up of the presence of the President and head of state of the Republic of Togo, the President and head of state of the Republic of Sierra Leone, the President and head of state of the Republic of Benin, to engage with CNSP and other stakeholders, with a view to agreeing on a short transition roadmap, establishing transition organs as well as facilitating the setting up of a transition monitoring and evaluation mechanism to work for the speedy restoration of constitutional order,” said the president of the ECOWAS commission.
Niger was subject to financial and economic sanctions by ECOWAS following the coup on July 26. Conditions for their lifting were outlined by Omar Alieu Touray, President of the Ecowas Commission.
“The authority will progressively ease the sanctions imposed on Niger. Failure by the CNSP to comply with the outcomes of engagement with the committee, ECOWAS shall maintain all sanctions, including the use of force and will request African Union and all other parties to enforce the target assumptions on members of the CMSP and their associate,” Touray said.
In an interview with The Associated Press on August 23, Abdel-Fatau Musah, the ECOWAS commissioner for peace and security, stated that while diplomatic channels with Niger’s junta remained open, the bloc would not participate in protracted negotiations that end in deadlock.
A Togolese source claims that General Tiani is prepared to bargain over the length of the transition and the detained deposed leader Mohamed Bazoum’s fate.
The chairman of ECOWAS called the attempt to form an Alliance of Sahel States by some of the military-ruled nations a “phantom attempt to divert attention from our mutual quest for democracy and good governance that will impact the life of our people.”
The ECOWAS Chairman emphasized that it will not tolerate any unconstitutional changes of government and urged other leaders to focus on safeguarding democracy in light of the recent unrest in Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau.
