Fmr Head Of State, Abdulsslami Abubakar, Sultan, To Mediate In Niger Republic Crisis

By Ayodele Oni

Former Nigerian Head of State,General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd), is leading a mediatory delegation to Niger Republic to meet with the warring factions.

The Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Tinubu, dispatched the delegation to Niger Republic with a mandate to resolve the current political impasse in the country.

A State House statement, signed by Presidential Spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, on Thursday, explained that the action was in line with the resolution reached at the end of the extraordinary summit of the ECOWAS held last weekend in Abuja.

The delegation, headed by General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd), left for Niamey on Thursday following a briefing by President Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.

The former Nigerian Head of State is joined in the delegation by the Sultan of Sokoto,Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III and the President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. Omar Alieu Touray.

The President has also sent a separate delegation led by Ambassador Babagana Kingibe to engage with the leaders of Libya and Algeria on the Niger crisis.

Briefing the two delegations, President Tinubu charged them to engage all stakeholders robustly with a view to doing whatever it takes to ensure a conclusive and amicable resolution of the situation in Niger for the purposes of African peace and development rather than a move to adopt the geopolitical positions of other nations.

“We don’t want to hold brief for anybody. Our concern is democracy and the peace of the region,” the President said.

Speaking after the meeting, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd) said the delegation would meet the coup leaders in Niger to present the demands of the ECOWAS leadership.

Both leaders of the two missions expressed optimism on the outcome of the assignments.