Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Tinubu, has called for an emergency ECOWAS meeting to discuss the change of government in Niger.
This meeting is to be attended by president and heads of government of the west Africa region.
Tinubu, in a statement he personally signed on Wednesday, condemned the current political situation in the neighbouring country.
He promised that ECOWAS and the international community would do everything to defend democracy and ensure democratic governance continues to take firm root in the sub-region.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in separate telephone calls on Thursday with Tinubu affirmed the support of the US and UN for the position taken by ECOWAS and the Nigerian leader to restore constitutional order in Niger.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that soldiers from Niger’s presidential guard deposed President Mohamed Bazoum and closed the country’s borders while entrances to government ministries were also blocked.
NAN reports that this is Niger’s fifth coup and marks the fall of one of the the last democratically elected governments in the Sahel.
NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA
