Niger Military Junta Turns Down Meeting Offer from ECOWAS Delegation

The ECOWAS delegation, led by former Nigerian military ruler Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), was unable to meet with the Niger Republic military Junta on Saturday.

According to Gistlover, the delegation, which also included the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, traveled to Niger to hold new talks with the military regime there that is run by General Abdourahmane Tchiani.

However, Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine welcomed the delegation that was supposed to meet with the leader of the Niger Republic coup, General Tchiani.

The meeting with a representative of the troubled West African nation reportedly lasted about 90 minutes, according to BBC Hausa.

Unconfirmed reports of a coup by the Niger Republic’s presidential guard have surfaced, but it is unclear why Abdulsalami’s delegation was unable to meet with the junta.

Recall that the ECOWAS delegation, which was also led by Abdulsalami, was unable to meet with both the coup leader and President Mohamed Bazoum.

When some Nigerian clerics met with him last weekend, Tichiani later expressed regret, saying they had refused to meet the delegation out of anger.

General Tchiani said it was regrettable that ECOWAS did not even attempt to hear their side of the story before imposing sanctions and giving them a deadline to vacate office.

The coup’s leader also said that although they were irate, he had apologized to President Bola Tinubu.