The leader of the Niger junta, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, has promised to hand over to a civilian government within the next three years.
General Tchiani made this promise during a televised broadcast on Saturday night.
While speaking after meeting with a delegation of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) led by the former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd), General Tchiani said that the junta would form a committee to study and form the new constitution of the country within a month.
While he reiterated that Niger did not want to go to war, the General said the country would not hesitate to defend itself if the need arises.
He also added that the door for negotiation was still open.
ECOWAS has not reacted to the speech of the junta leader, but Abdulsalami will brief the regional bloc on the outcome of the meeting.
Meanwhile, Niger’s military-appointed Prime Minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, said that the overthrown president Mohamed Bazoum would be safe and unharmed.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu recently warned of impending “grave consequences” if the military rulers of Niger allow Bazoum’s health to deteriorate while under house arrest.
While talking to New York Times, Lamine Zeine said: “Nothing will happen to him, because we don’t have a tradition of violence in Niger.”
The new rulers of Niger have shown little flexibility so far and warned against “illegal aggression”.
Radio France International has however reported that thousands of volunteers turned out in central Niamey recently to answer a call to register as civilian auxiliaries who could be mobilized to support the army.
This came after ECOWAS force declared readiness to intervene in Niger ‘anytime the order is given’, after a two-day meeting of the regional bloc’s military chiefs in Accra, Ghana’s capital city.
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