Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Abdel-Fatau Musah, has reaffirmed the cohesive stance of all chiefs of defence staff from member states in relation to discussions on interventions in Niger.
These discussions took place during a two-day meeting held at Burma Camp in Accra, attended by military chiefs of staff from all member states except those under military rule and Cape Verde.
The purpose was to determine the course of action following the ousting of President Mohammed Bazhoum.
In an interview after the second day of deliberations, Mr Abdel-Fatau Musah conveyed a resolute sense of unity within the Western African Bloc and confidence in the decisions reached during the meeting.
He dispelled the notion of potential dissent among the member states in good standing, stating, “It is beyond our expectation. All the member states have committed something very concretely. All of them. And yesterday we had the arrival of Guinea-Bissau to join us. And so everybody is here and everybody has committed something for the mission. We are very pleased with it.”
Contrary to assumptions that military intervention might be imminent, Mr Musah clarified that it was not the primary option, but rather a contingency that had been thoughtfully considered.
He emphasised the commitment to exploring peaceful avenues for resolving the crisis, while ensuring the restoration of constitutional order.
Mr Musah explained, “This is a plan B. We are ready, but we still give peace a chance. We want them to come forward with very concrete proposals, for a peaceful resolution of the crisis. And that begins by them receiving a mission from ECOWAS. All we want is to make sure that the right thing is done, constitutional order is restored. We do not want to go the military route, and so we are giving every opportunity for the peaceful option to work.”
Since the coup on July 26th, the military junta in Niger has refrained from engaging with ECOWAS or its representatives.
They even issued a warning that the safety of any ECOWAS representative visiting the country could not be guaranteed.
Addressing this stance, Abdel-Fatau Musah conveyed a positive shift, stating, “Over the last couple of days, we have already received assurances that they are ready to receive a mission, and so we will take them at their word. They are ready to engage, and we will oblige them.”
Concerned about misinformation circulating regarding a potential ECOWAS military intervention, Abdel-Fatau Musah urged caution among the media and the public.
He appealed for reliance on official information issued by the ECOWAS commission and advised against being swayed by unverified reports on social media.
“What I would say is that there is so much orchestrated and organized resistance and everybody is focused on the military option, military option. This is not the preferred option of ECOWAS. And so I would appeal to the media and all people who actually love the region to wait for official information from the ECOWAS commission and not to be tempted by social media,” he stated.
So far, ECOWAS has;
Condemned the coup and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of President Mohamed Bazoum and other detained officials.
Suspended Niger from all its decision-making bodies and imposed sanctions on the coup leaders and their collaborators, including travel bans, asset freezes, and suspension of financial flows.
Activated its standby force with all its elements, for a possible deployment to Niger to restore constitutional order, while also giving a chance for peaceful dialogue with the junta.