The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Members of Parliament, under the platform “Concerned Parliamentarians”, have appealed to the heads of state and government in the region to lift the sanctions imposed on the Niger Republic.
They made the call on Wednesday at a press briefing at the opening of the 2023 Second Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja.
The Head of State in ECOWAS had last July imposed sanctions on the Niger Republic to protest the ouster of President Mohamed Bazoum by certain military officers led by the erstwhile Presidential Guard commander, General Abdourahamane Tchiani.
Part of the sanctions by the block included the suspension of all commercial transactions with Niger, the freezing of its state assets in the regional central bank, the freezing of the assets of the state and state enterprises in commercial banks, and the suspension of all financial assistance with regional development banks.
The ECOWAS sanctions also meant Nigeria cut the power supply to the country on the 80-megawatt Birnin-Kebbi line, while Ivory Coast suspended imports and exports of Nigerien goods.
Addressing journalists, the Senator representing Borno South, who incidentally is the Senate Chief Whip in the Tenth Senate, Ali Ndume, declared that states in Nigeria, about seven of them bordering the Niger Republic, are at the receiving end of the sanctions.
Ndume appealed to President Bola Tinubu as chairman of the Authority of Heads of State to impress on his colleagues to consider the immediate lifting of the ban to assuage the suffering of the people, particularly Nigerians and Nigeri’ens.
He said, “We are here to address the press on the happenings in Niger. There was a change of government in Niger on the 30th of July. Immediately after the incident, ECOWAS and other countries imposed sanctions on Niger.
“We thought it was temporary, and the matter could be resolved within a short time. But we know that what is happening now is the continuous suffering of the poor people of Niger and other neighbouring countries, especially Nigeria.
“Niger borders about eight states in Nigeria. Kano, Katsina, Jebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Borno are all bordering Niger. Since the closure of the borders and the imposition of sanctions against Niger, the poor, including children and women, have been subjected to different forms of suffering.
“When you go to the border, you see thousands of trailers loaded with foodstuffs, and these food items are decaying and wasting away. This is affecting the economy of Niger and the bordering communities and states, especially Nigeria.”
“We are therefore appealing to the Authority of Heads of State, and particularly President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to consider the suffering of our people in Niger, Nigeria, and other Member States and lift the sanctions against Niger.
“It is good that President Tinubu’s agenda is to boost the economy, and the people are suffering here because of the ban imposed on Niger. So, we appeal to him to prevail on his colleagues so that the ban can be lifted and the people will return to their normal economic lives.”
