ECOWAS’ sanctions on Niger Republic not meant to cause hardship — Speaker Abbas

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, on Tuesday observed that the sanctions imposed on Niger Republic by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was not meant to put the Citizens of that country into hardship.

The Speaker, who disclosed this in Abuja while addressing a delegation of former Ministers from Niger Republic led by the Second Vice President of the ECOWAS Parliament, Hon. Boucary Sani Malam Chaibou, averred that coups by nature hinder development.

While noting that Nigeria and Niger Republic have witnessed several coups in the past, which affected both countries negatively, the Speaker lamented that the surge of coups in several African countries, including Niger Republic, necessitated the imposition of sanctions on Niger Republic by ECOWAS leaders.

According to the Speaker, if no sanctions were imposed on military juntas that got to power through coups, the trend would pose serious threats to the future of Africa.

He said the Nigerian parliament would play a key role in ensuring that the disputes between Niger and ECOWAS were resolved amicably, adding that Nigeria and Niger Republic have much in common culturally and religiously.

The Speaker informed the Nigerien delegation that he would meet President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the matter.

“I will meet with the president and inform him about the developments you raised,” the Speaker noted.

It would be recalled that on July 26, 2023, the Presidential Guards in Niger Republic launched a coup and detained President Mouhammadou Bazoum and his family.

Earlier in her remarks, the former Minister of Labour and Productivity of Niger Republic, Madam Ibrahim Maryama Alhassan, pleaded with the Speaker to use his good offices to intervene on the sanctions imposed on Niger Republic by ECOWAS.

She said the citizens of her country have found themselves in a difficult situation following the ECOWAS sanctions.

The former Minister added that members of the delegation, comprising mostly women, were working relentlessly by visiting key leaders in ECOWAS Member States to plead for the lifting of the sanctions on Niger Republic.

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