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The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has urged leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to use dialogue and diplomacy in its effort to restore democracy in Niger Republic.
On July 26, Niger President Mohamed Bazoum was deposed from office by a military junta that has gone on to form a new government.
In its latest extraordinary summit on Niger in Abuja, Nigeria on Thursday, ECOWAS ordered the deployment of its standby force to restore democracy in the West African nation.
But reacting in a post on his Twitter handle on Sunday, Obi said “diplomacy must remain the overarching imperative in resolving the present crisis.”
Obi added that Niger needs all the external assistance it can get to return to constitutional democracy.
“Recent developments in the neighbouring Niger Republic have become the subject of international attention,” Obi said.
“For Nigeria, this development is a matter of dire and urgent national interest and security.
“Inevitably, Niger is a hot-button issue for ECOWAS, as well as various international interlocutors.
“Regardless of the positions taken by various parties that have direct or tangential interests in Niger, primacy must be given to dialogue and diplomacy towards a resolution with minimal disruptive impact on Nigeria and the West African sub-region.
“A total diplomatic resolution must take into consideration the realpolitik of the West African sub-region.
“All national, regional and international assistance should be extended to the people of Niger to return their country to normalcy.”
Obi added that Nigeria’s role in resolving the Niger crisis remains critical.
“While ECOWAS must seek to discourage the spread of military dictatorships in West Africa, the recourse to armed deterrence must be restrained by multilateral diplomatic mechanisms,” he said.
“What the situation in Niger urgently calls for is a concerted multilateral coalition of Nigeria, ECOWAS, the AU and the UN towards a programmed return to a democratic constitutional order.
“In this process, Nigeria’s leadership role must not be in any doubt.”