The Speaker of Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Mr. Sidie Muhammed Tunis, has condemned the military junta in Niger, and called on it to restore the deposed President, Bazoun, into office and go back to the barracks.
He condemned military rule, saying it was not good for us (West Africa).
According to him, those who were hailing the military junta would, in no time, turn round to condemn it, an indication that the days of coup d’états were over, and that we should not go back to the dark ages.
He indicated that the ECOWAS Parliament supports Heads of State and ECOWAS Commission to use force to intervene in the Nigerien crisis in the event of failure to use diplomacy and dialogue.
“We support the position of the ECOWAS Commission to stop coup d’états in West Africa,” he told William De Bordes in an interview on Silver FM, a radio station in Kumasi.
The Speaker emphasised that he preferred dialogue, but if it failed, ECOWAS would opt for force to stop coup d’états though it was very expensive and risky, hence the need to resort to peace talks and dialogue.
He said ECOWAS would adopt all avenues to ensure peace, and cautioned the Nigerien military not to take the slow approach of the ECOWAS for granted.
Hon. Tunis noted that good governance was key to democracy, and urged African leaders to always uphold human rights and the rule of law and good governance for democracy to thrive.
