The Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Bola Tinubu, who is also the President of Nigeria, has said diplomacy “is the best way forward” to end the leadership crisis in Niger, AFP news agency reports.
On Tuesday, his spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said that Tinubu "has been unequivocal in his position that diplomacy is the best way forward.”
"He (Tinubu) along with his colleagues in (ECOWAS) would prefer a resolution that was obtained through diplomatic means, through peaceful means, rather than any other,” Ngelale added.
Tinubu appears to have adopted a less aggressive approach towards resolving the crisis in Niger after earlier warning of a military intervention, should the Niger coup leaders fail to reinstate deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum.
A seven-day ultimatum issued to the coup leaders by ECOWAS to reinstate President Bazoum, who was ousted on July 26, ended on Sunday, August 6, with the regional bloc’s wish not granted.
ECOWAS had threatened to mobilise its member states’ military forces to intervene in Niger in order to restore constitutional normalcy and return Bazoum to power.
Even as Tinubu seeks a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Niger, on Tuesday he ordered for new financial sanctions against the country through the Central Bank of Nigeria, Reuters news agency reports.
The president’s spokesperson, Ngelale, said the sanctions will target “entities and individuals involved in the coup.”
