Coup: Tinubu dispatches Gen Abdulsalami to Niger

President Bola Tinubu has sent a delegation to Niger Republic with a mandate to expeditiously resolve the current political impasse in the country.

The delegation, headed by former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd), left Abuja for Niamey, the capital of Niger Republic on Thursday, August 3, 2023, following a meeting with Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The former Head of State was joined in the delegation by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, and the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray.

The presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, who made this known via a statement, said the action was in line with the resolution reached at the end of the extraordinary summit of the ECOWAS held last weekend in Abuja.

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Tinubu, who is the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, also sent a separate delegation led by Ambassador Babagana Kingibe to engage with the leaders of Libya and Algeria on the Niger crisis.

Briefing the two delegations, President Tinubu charged them to engage all stakeholders robustly with a view to doing whatever it takes to ensure a conclusive and amicable resolution of the situation in Niger for the purpose of African peace and development rather than a move to adopt the geopolitical positions of other nations.

“We don’t want to hold brief for anybody. Our concern is democracy and the peace of the region,” the president said.

Speaking after the meeting, Abubakar said the delegation would meet the coup leaders in Niger to present the demands of the ECOWAS leadership.

The Star