By AFP 04 August 2023 | 7:56 am A team from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS left Niger without meeting the leader of the junta which seized power in a coup, a delegation member said Friday. General Abdourahamane Tchiani, Nigers new strongman, speaking on national television (Photo by – / ORTN – Télé Sahel / AFP) A team from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS left Niger without meeting the leader of the junta which seized power in a coup, a delegation member said Friday. The Economic Community of West African States delegation arrived in the capital Niamey on Thursday “but did not spend the night” as scheduled, nor meet with coup leader Abdourahamane Tiani or deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, the team member said. The delegation was led by former Nigerian president Abdulsalami Abubakar and was initially due to meet Tiani to present ECOWAS’s demands, according to the Nigerian presidency. Regional powerhouse Nigeria holds the rotating presidency of ECOWAS, which imposed sanctions and on Sunday gave the putschists a week to restore Bazoum to power. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu however said the bloc would do its best to resolve the crisis amicably but ECOWAS said it could resort to military intervention as a last resort. Niger’s junta meanwhile warned it would meet force with force. “Any aggression or attempted aggression against the State of Niger will see an immediate and unannounced response from the Niger Defence and Security Forces on one of (the bloc’s) members,” one of the putschists said in a statement read on national television late Thursday. Latest 4 mins ago The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (PENGASSAN), has joined workers of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, (NUPRC) in the ongoing protest against the Chief Executive Officer of the Commission in Port Harcourt. 10 mins ago Gov. Hyacinth Alia has inaugurated the Benue State University (BSU) Makurdi visitation panel to audit the institution from 2016 to date. 20 mins ago Russia said Friday it had thwarted Ukrainian sea and air drone attacks on a naval base in the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula 28 mins ago South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called on Friday for mobilising all possible forces and police announced they “won’t hesitate” to use their firearms after a series of stabbings shook the typically low-crime country. 43 mins ago As motorists struggle with the high cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) following the removal of subsidy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu government, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited will provide cheaper alternative Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
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