U.S. Govt Reacts To ECOWAS’ Resolutions On Niger Republic

The United States Government has commended the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of State and Government for the resolutions on the military coup in Niger Republic.

Naija News reports that the Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, Matthew Miller, made this known in a statement on Sunday.

Naija News earlier reported that ECOWAS, at an extraordinary session in Abuja on Sunday, ordered the release of Niger President Mohamed Bazoum from detention and imposed some stiff sanctions on Niger following the coup organised by military leaders in the West African country.

Some of the resolutions include the closure of Land and Air borders between ECOWAS and Niger, the imposition of the no-flight zone to all commercial flights to and fro Niger and the suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS member states and Niger.

Other resolutions include the suspension of Niger from all financial assistance and transactions with all financial institutions and the imposition of travel bans on the military officials and their families involved in the coup attempt including anyone who accepts to take a position in the military government.

According to the statement, the U.S. government welcomed and commended ECOWAS to defend constitutional order in Niger and for actions that respect the will of the Nigerien people.

The Joe Biden government also joined ECOWAS and regional leaders in calling for the immediate release of President Mohamed Bazoum and his family and the restoration of all state functions to the legitimate, democratically-elected government.

The statement reads: “The U.S. government welcomes and commends the strong leadership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of State and Government to defend constitutional order in Niger, actions that respect the will of the Nigerien people and align with enshrined ECOWAS and African Union principles of “zero tolerance for unconstitutional change.”

“We join ECOWAS and regional leaders in calling for the immediate release of President Mohamed Bazoum and his family and the restoration of all state functions to the legitimate, democratically-elected government.

“The United States further welcomes the dispatch of the special representative of the ECOWAS Chair to Niger and urges all parties to work with ECOWAS for a peaceful and expeditious resolution of the current situation.

“The United States will remain actively engaged with ECOWAS and West African leaders on the next steps to preserve Niger’s hard-earned democracy.”