The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has reiterated its commitment to ensuring that democratic governance is restored in Niger.
Speaking at the ECOWAS military chiefs meeting held in Accra on Thursday, August 17, 2023, the Commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, said ECOWAS is steadfastly committed to ensuring the restoration of constitutional governance.
“The fundamental issue is that ECOWAS is protecting its protocols. When ECOWAS deployed a standby force to the Gambia to make sure that a president who had lost elections vacated the presidency nobody made noise. Today, they are saying why are you intervening in Niger?
His remarks follow the Niger coup and subsequent reactions to the coup, especially from the ECOWAS.
ECOWAS has threatened to resort to force if Niger refuses to release the detained Nigerien President, Mohamed Bazoum.
He noted that concerns have been raised with regards where the Community will get resources to embark on the move and said these concerns though genuine have already been addressed.
“So serious interests are at stake here but that is not going to divert ECOWAS attention. We just want to inform them about the results of the ECOWAS heads of States and Governments to make sure that by all means available constitutional order will be restored in the country. And this meeting today, bears testimony to that,” he stressed.
“People are telling us where are we going to get the resources from? ECOWAS is being teleguided by the West, it is being teleguided by France and by anybody but what they forget is that ECOWAS is a rules based organization. We have our protocols, we have our norms and we are ready to protect them. If push comes to shove we are going into Niger with our own contingent owned equipment,” he noted.