The United States of America has given hints of possible intervention in Niger Republic if the country’s military rulers do not return to constitutional order.
By Emma Ogbuehi
The United States of America has given hints of possible intervention in Niger Republic if the country’s military rulers do not return to constitutional order. The US veiled threats came on the heels of President Bola Tinubu ordering fresh sanctions through the Central Bank of Nigeria on entities, and individuals related to and involved with the military junta in Niger Republic.
The Special Adviser to the President, Media, and Public Affairs, Ajuri Ngelale who disclosed this during a press conference on Tuesday, said these sanctions are based on the position of financial sanctions meted out on the military junta in the Niger Republic by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) heads of states.
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According to him, while no option has been taken off the table, it is expected that the far-reaching decisions will be taken by the bloc at the upcoming extraordinary meeting on Thursday in Abuja.
“No options have been taken off of the table,” Tinubu’s spokesman Ajuri said — but Tinubu and other West African leaders favour diplomacy.
The US acting Deputy Secretary, Victoria Nuland, disclosed Washington’s position in a special briefing on Niger via a teleconference on Tuesday.
She noted, “…There is still a lot of motion here on many sides with regard to where the governance situation will go.
“So we will be watching that closely and there are a number of regional meetings coming up and consultations with allies and partners that we need to make.
“So we’ll be watching the situation, but we understand our legal responsibilities and I explained those very clearly to the guys (Niger junta) who were responsible for this and that it is not our desire to go there, but they may push us to that point, and we asked them to be prudent in that regard and to hear our offer to try to work with them to solve this diplomatically and return to constitutional order.”
Nuland noted that President Joe Bden has been in constant touch with President Tinubu, the ECOWAS Chairman as well as many other European allies.
“He’s also been in regular touch with President Tinubu of Nigeria, who is currently head of ECOWAS, with AU Chairperson Faki, and with a number of European allies with whom we work in Niger, particularly on counterterrorism.
“And all of this has been rooted in our shared values, including the sense of democracy, which was why it was so difficult, and remains difficult, to see the current challenge to the democratic order which began on July 26,” she stressed.
