The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray, has said that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has neither declared war, nor has any plans to invade the Republic of Niger.
Touray, however, said that the commission will not hesitate to use legitimate force to ensure that constitutional order is restored.
In a press conference that the ECOWAS held in Abuja on Friday, Touray said that the decisions taken by ECOWAS to impose sanctions on Niger so as to cause the military junta to restore democratic rule in the nation had been taken out of context by those who now claimed that ECOWAS had declared war on Niger and was planning an invasion on the country.
In his speech, Touray said, “Unfortunately, this decision has been taken out of context and repeatedly represented in the media as a declaration of war against the republic of Niger or a planned invasion of the country. It is even tragic that some influential persons in the community have promoted this narrative which has been hyped in the social media as the gospel truth. These persons have conveniently ignored the strenuous efforts of the community to engage the military authority in Niger to reverse the attempted coup.
“For the avoidance of doubt, let me state unequivocally that ECOWAS has neither declared war on the people of Niger nor is there a plan as it is being purported to invade the country. The ECOWAS authority of Heads of states and governments has only activated a full-scale application of sanctions which include the use of legitimate force to restore constitutional order.
“In the interim, the region is employing other elements of its instruments and engaging with the military authorities as can be attested to by the several missions that have been fielded to the country and our joint efforts with our partners, including the African Union and the United Nations. We are hopeful that these diplomatic efforts will yield the desired outcome and make it unnecessary for the deployment of the force.”
However, the president of the commission said that the ECOWAS still had directives to ready the forces in the case that it was needed. He said, “Nonetheless, preparations continue towards making the force ready for deployment. Consequently, the technical arms of the decision-making organs which include the committee of Chiefs of Defence staff have also been directed to prepare the community enforcement mechanism in case it becomes compelling to deploy the force.”
Touray then said, “Friends of the press, we believe that even now it is not too late for the military authorities in Niger to reconsider their actions and listen to the voice of reason. As the regional leaders, we will not condone coup d’état. ECOWAS also wishes to remind them of their responsibility for the security and safety of President Bazoum, members of his family, and government.”
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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