To negotiate with the military leaders who led the coup that toppled President Mohamed Bazoum, a delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has arrived in Niger.
Former Nigerian President Abdulsalami Abubakar leads the ECOWAS mission.
The military council in charge of Niger has also acknowledged the arrival of ECOWAS officials.
On Saturday, a jet carrying the group landed in Niamey, Niger’s capital, a day after the ECOWAS military commanders announced their willingness to act to restore Bazoum to power.
If current negotiations with coup leaders fail, ECOWAS defense chiefs met this week in Accra, Ghana’s capital, to fine-tune terms of a future military action to reinstall Bazoum.
In a desperate attempt to restore democracy in Niger after generals deposed and imprisoned Bazoum, ECOWAS reportedly decided to create a “standby force” as reported by Infostride News.
The West African bloc, meanwhile, has stated that it prefers dialogue as a means to alleviate the problem.
A source close to the new delegation has indicated they plan to meet with Bazoum and deliver “a message of firmness” to the army officers.
After the meeting with the military chiefs on Friday, ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs and security Abdel-Fatau Musah remarked, “We are ready to go any time the order is given.”
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