ECOWAS delegation meets ousted Niger president

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) delegation in Niger on Saturday met with ousted President Mohamed Bazoum Saturday.

The delegation led by former Nigeria’s head of state, Abdulsalami Abubakar, arrived in Niamey for talks with leaders of the military junta that ousted Basoum last month Saturday afternoon.

The delegation which included the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammed Abubakar, was received on arrival in the capital by Niger’s Prime Minister, Ali Lamine Zeine.

Journalists from the Niger news agency at the presidential palace on Saturday afternoon confirmed that the delegation met with the ousted president who was “in good spirits.”

READ ALSO: Northern elders also warn ECOWAS against military intervention in Niger

The arrival of the delegation in Niamey was seen by many as a last-ditch diplomatic move by ECOWAS after the coup plotters rebuffed entreaties to restore constitutional order in the landlocked West African country.

The leader of the military junta, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, had during the week declared his readiness to meet the ECOWAS delegation on the political situation in the country.

The West African bloc last week activated its standby force to eject the coup plotters from the presidential palace and restore Basoum who has been under house arrest since he was toppled on July 26.

The ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, Abdul-Fatau Musah, told journalists at the end of the meeting of West African defence chiefs held in Accra, Ghana, on Friday said the military heads had agreed on a day to move against the coup plotters.

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