Top diplomats from the United Nations, African Union and the Economic Community of West African States will Thursday (today) storm Abuja, the nation’s capital, to take major decisions at an Extraordinary Summit on the political development in the Niger Republic.
The summit, which is expected to plot the ouster of the junta, will be hosted by the Chairman of the ECOWAS of Heads of States and Government, President Bola Tinubu.
According to a senior diplomat, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, Leonardo Santos Simão, would be at the special session.
‘’The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel is the spokesman on the Niger issue and he is likely to be at the next ECOWAS meeting,’’ the source said on the condition of anonymity.
The junta led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani had defiantly refused to yield to entreaties and diplomatic pressure to restore Bazoum to office.
Following the coup, the regional bloc imposed a battery of sanctions on the francophone country to compel the military leaders to reinstate the ousted president.
But the military leaders snubbed a one-week ultimatum to restore democracy issued by ECOWAS and also refused to meet with a delegation led by former military president Abdulsalami Abubakar last Thursday.
Also, plans by a joint UN, AU, ECOWAS delegation to visit Niamey on Tuesday was aborted after the coup leaders said they were unavailable to meet with the mission.