Legislators from Niger implore ECOWAS to end sanctions
At the 2023 Second Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament, lawmakers representing the Niger Republic have demanded that the sanctions be lifted against their nation. To end the political deadlock and restore constitutional rule to the country, they demanded that the military junta step down. While presenting the nation’s 2023 report to the parliament in Abuja on Wednesday, Mr. Amadou Djibo, one of the lawmakers, laid out their stance. “The sanction has left the citizenry and neighbouring countries that share borders with Niger in dire condition,” Djibo told the ECOWAS Parliament. We are here per the directives of ECOWAS, which rejects the coup and maintains recognition of Mohamed Bazoum as Niger’s legitimately elected president. In order to ensure that the people of Niger and the surrounding areas may continue to earn a living, we are pleading with this house to assist in easing the sanctions. “The way forward is to address the military presence in the country so that democratic process can be restored,” he added, responding to the current political scenario in Niger, which is characterised by a military government. In July, the military deposed Bazoum and his family and took them into custody. Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani spearheaded the coup that resulted in the detention of Interior Minister Hamadou Souley. Bazoum had intended to remove Tchiani from his role as commander of the presidential guard. Nigerians Ali Ndume and Dr. Balarabe Salame, as well as Sierra Leonean Saa Lamina, all backed the call to remove sanctions. Their main point was that if sanctions were lifted, people in Niger and the surrounding countries would finally be able to breathe.
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