President Bola Tinubu and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have been requested by Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume to remove trade, economic, and other sanctions against the Niger Republic.
He claims that rather than the military government led by Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, the people of Niger are being severely impacted by the five-month embargo.
Ndume bemoaned the penalties on the 26 million citizens of the French-speaking West African nation when he made the call yesterday from his Government Reserved Area (GRA) home in Maiduguri, Borno State.
Along with the economic problems in Niger, the economic and trade restrictions have a significant negative impact on the citizens of Nigeria's border states, including Kano, Zamfara, Borno, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Kebbi, and Yobe. Instead, he claimed, sanctions ought to be imposed on the Tchiani junta, which on July 26, 2023, forcibly overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum's democratically elected administration.
"The National Assembly should have engaged in dialogue with the junta instead of the ECOWAS placing economic sanctions on Niger," he warned, adding that over 100,000 displaced people from the local councils of Abadam, Guzamala, and Mobbar were seeking safety in Diffa Province for more than ten years. As a result, Ndume urged Tinubu to hold talks with Tchiani by dispatching four retired generals: Yakubu Gowon, Abubakar Abdulsalami, Muhammadu Buhari, and Ibrahim Babangida.
According to him, Nigeria's relationship with the African Union (AU), ECOWAS, and the world community can continue to be conducted with "respect and dignity" during the diplomatic talks.
The senator from Borno South and Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations issued a warning, stating that the continuation of the economic sanctions will cause the people in Niger and the border regions of eight states in the country to suffer due to increased living expenses.
Regarding the electrical cutoff to Niger, he stated that the Tchiani junta had already procured approximately 50 megawatts of solar-powered electricity. He pointed out that there was a deal with the Nigerien government not to build a dam across the River Niger that would alter the water flow into the Kainji Dam, therefore the supply of electricity to Niger was not unlimited.
The lawmaker blamed poor national and local government and leadership for the recent coup in Nigerien. Ndume also criticized Tinubu for putting in place a 50% transportation subsidy for the holidays. Only visitors to Gombe State benefited, he claimed, out of the six state capitals in the Northeast.
He went on, "Commuters are not being transported to Yola, Damaturu, Maiduguri, Bauchi, or Jalingo by any of the five bus operators." The Guardian also discovered that since 2014, the country's opulent bus companies have not operated in the area due to Boko Haram's persistent road strikes.