Four weeks after its seven-day ultimatum issued to the leaders of the Niger junta to restore constitutional order, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has further explained some phrases in its communique.
President of ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Alieu Touray, during a press conference at the ECOWAS Commission’s Headquarters in Abuja, assured citizens of Niger that ECOWAS is very interested in their economic prosperity and social welfare and believes that their aspirations can only be met through democratic means and participatory governance.
President Touray emphasised that ECOWAS is working towards an amicable solution to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger.
According to Touray, the regional organization has not announced any intention to engage in warfare against the citizens of Niger Republic, neither has it formulated strategies to invade the nation.
He noted that some influential people in the region had promoted the misrepresentation of the planned invasion of Niger by the ECOWAS Standby Force saying, that deployment of ECOWAS Standby Force is provided in the ECOWAS Protocol in the advent of an unconstitutional change of government in any member country.
Dr. Touray, further said that the Mechanism of the ECOWAS Protocol provides that force can be deployed in the event of an overthrow or at an attempt to remove a democratically elected government.
